


Auror 99

by adenei



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:20:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 39,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27551425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adenei/pseuds/adenei
Summary: Crossover AU where a magical fugitive (OC) is wanted by both the Aurors and Brooklyn's 99th Precinct. The Golden Trio is sent undercover to New York by Kingsley to team up with Jake and the gang to work the case and catch the bad guy. Will they be able to do it without the squad finding out the true identities of the Golden Trio?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 38
Kudos: 76





	1. Prologue: Casecation

**Author's Note:**

> If I had to set a timeline, it would be during HP Post War, and around season 2-3ish of B99. But since this is a crossover of two VERY different worlds in multiple respects, anything goes. Except for canon pairings, those for sure stay the same!
> 
> Thanks for reading this crazy story that was hatched in the Romione discord because the similarities between Peraltiago and Romione contain too much fluff to handle!

Ministry of Magic, London:

Hermione walked into Harry and Ron’s office with a case file in her hand. “You’ll never believe it,'' she said.

Harry and Ron looked up at her. “What?” They both said at once.

“They found him! Gerteso. He’s in New York. We’ve been given special permission by Kingsley to go there and bring him in.”

“No bloody way,” Ron said.

“Finally! Brilliant work, Hermione!” Harry said. 

Howard Gerteso was wanted for a variety of crimes. Most notable was the money laundering. The goblins at Gringotts had been completely unaware that they’d been Imperiused for the better part of a year, placing small amounts of gold in Gerteso’s alias account when making deposits for innocent witches and wizards. By the time someone had caught on, he’d laundered thousands of galleons from his victims, emptied the fault and fled the country. Hermione had been assisting on the case as part of her position with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Harry and Ron were the lead investigators on the case. They were able to deduce his real name, but had lost the trail in Peru three months ago.

“Thanks, Harry. There is one catch, though.”

“What? We have to work with the New York Auror division, don’t we?” Ron questioned as he rolled his eyes.

“N-no, not exactly.” Hermione grimaced. 

“What is it, then?” Harry asked impatiently.

“Gerteso’s wanted for his crimes in New York as well. But not within the magical world. Muggle New York. There’s a task force on the case with the detectives of Brooklyn’s 99th Precinct. Kingsley’s been in contact with their Captain. We’ll be teaming up with them.”

“The muggle police? You can’t be serious, Hermione,” Ron groaned.

“It’s the closest option we have. Kingsley said we’ll need to go undercover though, so we’ll need to use appearance altering charms,” Hermione added.

“Why?” Harry asked. “No one’s going to know us in New York, so what would it matter?” 

Hermione frowned. “He wouldn’t say. But our portkey is meant to leave in three hours so we need to get moving.”

With that, they went to gather all the files they’d need, and flooed home to pack for an indeterminable amount of time.

Brooklyn: 99th Precinct, the following morning:

“Attention, everyone. Listen up,” announced Captain Holt in their morning meeting. “I have an announcement to make regarding the Gertesto case.”

“AKA Shredder,” Jake interrupted.

“Jake, no one’s using that nickname but you. It doesn’t even make any sense,” Amy rolled her eyes at him.

“As you know” Captain Holt continued as Jake shot Amy a look as Boyle patted him supportively on the shoulder, “Gerteso is not only wanted for a series of patent infringements and identity thefts in New York, but he’s also wanted in London for a significant money laundering scheme. I’ve been in contact from an official in London and they are sending three detectives to work the case with us. They will be arriving this morning.”

“What, the Brits don’t think we can handle capturing a man who’s wanted in multiple countries on our own?” Jake scoffed. “I’m pretty sure we can handle it.”

“Sir, what will this mean if he is taken into custody? If he’s caught in the United States, we have the right to detain him here,” Amy questioned.

“Yes, Santiago, this is normally true. However, this is a unique case, and it has come to my attention that outside help will be necessary. The reasons are confidential so I may not speak any further on the matter. I’ll call you in when they arrive. You’re dismissed.”

As the squad made their way out of the conference room and back to their desks, Jake looked at Terry and Boyle, “You don’t think they’re with MI-6, do you? How cool would that be. Real life spies and everything.”

“I don’t know, Jake,” Terry said unconvincingly. “The crimes don’t seem that severe to call in England’s top secret intelligence service for this.”

“Yeah, but it does smell like something funny’s going on,” Boyle said, agreeing with Jake as he always did.

“Does everything always have to be suspicious with you?” Amy asked, butting into their conversation.

“I’m not saying it’s suspicious, Ames, but there is something off about it.” Jake defended.

“Guys, can you stop talking about it until they actually get here? I’ve got work to do and you’re all giving me a headache,” Rosa chimed in. 

Terry nodded in agreement to Rosa’s crass statement. “Rosa’s right, guys, let’s just try not to think about it and get to work.”


	2. Chapter 1: Serve & Protect

Serve & Protect  
“Here is everything you’ll need regarding the mission in New York,” Kingsley said to the trio. “I’ll be coming with you, but I won’t be able to stay to see this through. Even though the Aurors and New York Police Department are two separate entities in two separate countries, you will be reporting to Captain Holt of the 99th precinct. He is aware of the reality of the situation, and has had a portrait hung in his office so that he may contact me at any given moment. Patronuses should only be sent in dire need.”

“So MACUSA isn’t going to be involved at all?” Harry asked.

“They’re aware of the situation, however they are entrusting us to handle it quietly. None of the crimes Gerteso has committed in the US have been magical in nature that we know of, so there’s no grounds of jurisdiction. You’ll do well to remember you are working with muggles, who have no idea about our world, so the magic will need to be kept to a minimum.” Kingsley then handed them an additional bag.

“What’s this?” Ron asked.

“Muggle tactical gear. You’ll still need your wands on you at all times since apprehending Gerteso with magic will most likely be necessary, but you’ve got to play the part. You’ll have time to read over your identity files when we get to New York.”

Hermione looked in her bag as her face drained slightly of color. “We have to carry around a gun? Kingsley, I don’t even know how to shoot one.”

Harry also looked concerningly at Kingsley as Ron asked, “A gun? Like those things in muggle action movies? Cool!”

“Don’t worry, Hermione. Once we get to New York, we’ll be going through a brief training on how to use your tactical gear. We’d have done it here if time allowed, but unfortunately we’re short on that. In order to keep suspicions down with MACUSA, that’s why we’re going over this stuff here.

“You should use the glamour charms now to get into character. No one needs to be any wiser that the Golden Trio are the ones employed in this case. Hermione, you’ll be known as Charlotte Monahan, Ron, you’ll be Nolan Brown, and Harry, you’ll be Jason Cooper. Harry and Ron, you’re used to going undercover with different names, but Hermione, you’ll need to remember to respond to Charlotte, and to call the boys by their names.”

Hermione looked down at the rings on her hand, and then up to Kingsley. He read the question on her mind and said, “You can keep them on. There’s nothing in any of your back stories that divulge a relationship status. Just don’t give away that Nolan and Charlotte are married to each other, and you’ll be fine.” Kingsley then looked at Harry. “Ginny knows the case may last several weeks, if not more?” Harry nodded.

Kingsley looked at the trio in front of him. Hermione’s charms had transformed her hair pin-straight, and the color had changed to a much lighter brown, almost edging on dark blonde. She picked up the fake glasses that were in her bag and put them on her face. The hair change alone made her look different enough, and the glasses were an extra added measure of protection. 

Ron also needed minimal changes. There were less freckles on his face, and his short hair was changed to a strawberry blonde color instead of it’s natural red shade. Harry’s hair became more tame as he’d transformed it from black to dark brown. He’d shed his glasses and put in prescription contacts that also turned his eyes to a shade of brown instead of their natural green. 

They’d already changed into their uniforms that resembled that of the NYPD. “Excellent work, you three,” Kingsley said approvingly. “There’s just one more thing that needs to be done.” Kingsley turned to Harry and pointed his wand at Harry’s forehead. He cast a spell that made his lightning scar disappear, and then did the same for the ‘I must not tell lies’ scar on his hand.

Kingsley then turned to Ron. “Ron, can you lift up your sleeves for me?” Ron did as he was told as Kingsley all but vanished the brain scars from his arms. Hermione’s neck scar was taken care of next.

“We needed to cover up your more pronounced scars to ensure that you’ll be undetectable undercover. A simple glamour charm won’t do for that, so I’ve cast a semi-permanent covering charm on them. It will last up to two weeks. Regardless of whether your glamour charms are in effect or not. The spell is in your files in case you need to recast it.”

“You mean to tell me there’s a spell to cover up my lightning scar, and I’m only just now finding out about it?” Harry couldn’t believe it.

“It’s not safe to use all the time, Harry. Plus, your scars make you part of who you are. There should be no shame in covering them up. We only ever use the charm in cases such as this, and it’s not well known. A glamour charm wouldn’t be strong enough to hide them day in and day out. Remember to be vigilant about your appearances. Take care of each other. It is of utmost importance that you look out for one another.”

“No offense, Kingsley, but I think you’re talking to the wrong group of people,” Ron said as he thought back to the war. 

“It’s a reminder all the same. Now, the portkey leaves in two minutes, so gather your things,” Kingsley said as he checked his watch. He picked up an old pillow and gestured for them to grab hold. “As soon as we land in New York, you go by your undercover names. In front of Captain Holt’s squad, I’m John King. Hold on tight, we’ve got a long journey.” The pillow began to glow brightly and the group of four was transported to MACUSA headquarters in NYC.

***************  
“Ah. Mr. King, welcome. Please if you’ll follow me this way,” Captain Holt said as he met the group of four at the elevator. He led them into the conference room. They noticed several people watching them, but that was nothing new. 

Holt shut the door after they’d entered. “You’ve briefed your team, then?” he asked Kingsley.  
“For the most part, yes. I figured your squad could inform them of Gerteso’s crimes here and then you can team them up or do as you see fit,” Kingsley explained. “Where do yours stand?”

“They are aware that we’ll be working with British authorities, and that Gerteso is wanted for money laundering in England. They do not know that we will be going with your team upon apprehension. Likewise, they are unaware of who your team is.”

Kingsley nodded at Holt’s words. Kingsley introduced the three by their undercover names and then said, “I really do need to get back. Thank you for letting us assist with the case. You know where to find me.” With that, Kingsley shook Holt’s hand, nodded at the trio, and saw himself out.

“I assume Mr. King told you that I am Captain Raymond Holt. I am going to be bringing in the rest of the squad who is working this case, and they will fill you in on where things stand.” Captain Holt walked over and opened the door. “Peralta, Santiago, Jeffords, Boyle, Diaz.”

They all walked in and sat down as Harry, Ron and Hermione stood there awkwardly. Unsure of what to do. “Listen up. This is Jason Cooper, Nolan Brown and Charlotte Monahan. They are the British officers who will be assisting us on the Gerteso case. I will be teaming them up with you as we work to locate and apprehend him. You are to fill them in on where the case stands now, and what leads we have.” Holt looked at the trio. “Here we’ve got Sergeant Terry Jeffords, and Detectives Jake Peralta, Amy Santiago, Charles Boyle and Rosa Diaz.” They all either raised a hand or nodded as their names were called. “Detective Monahan, you’ll be working closely with Detective Santiago, and Detective Brown, you’ll be working alongside Detective Peralta. Detective Cooper, you get both Detective Boyle and Detective Diaz. I have important work to attend to, so I’ll leave you to it.”

When Holt left the room, Jake stood up. “Alright, I know what you’re probably thinking, wanting to swoop in here and take the Gerteso case right out from underneath us. But I’ll have you know we’re not just going to step aside and let you take him from us!”   
Jake said in his false bravado.

“Uh, Jake?” Terry tried to interrupt.  
“Shhh, Sarge I got this!” Jake waved his hand at him. “Now, I have a very important question for you.” Jake looked at them seriously. “Are you MI-6? Is it really that serious?” 

Harry and Ron both looked at Hermione, who answered for them. “Er, no, not exactly. We’re hoping to gain acceptance into the program if we’re able to close this case.”

“Well, please excuse Jake and his ridiculous questioning. We’re happy to have you here,” Amy said smiling at them. “Why don’t we go out to our desks and we’ll let you know where we’re at with Geresto.”

“I’ll get extra chairs!” Boyle said a little enthusiastically as Rosa rolled her eyes.  
“Looks like you’ve got this covered.” Rosa walked back to her own desk and left Jake, Charles and Amy to it. 

“Okay,” Amy said, pulling a massive binder out of a drawer and placed it on her desk with a loud thump. “Geresto’s wanted for multiple accounts of identity theft and patent infringement. We’ve been tracking the locations of the identities he’s been taking, and we think he’s got himself hidden well somewhere in the city. The evidence we have indicates he’s definitely hiding out somewhere in the city, but we’ve reached a dead end. We’re hoping one of Jake’s contacts will pull through for us, but we’ve been waiting for two weeks.”

“I’m telling you he’s going to call, just give him some time!” Jake defended.

“I trust you, Jake,” Charles said happily.

“Thank you, Charles. At least someone does.”

“You’re sure that’s all he’s done here?” Harry cut in.

“Yeah, what’d he do across the pond?” Jake said in a terrible British impression.

“Er, he laundered thousands at one of the most prestigious banks, and fled with it all after killing two go-I mean, guards,” Ron said as Hermione gave him a pointed look. He’d almost said goblins.

Amy nodded as Jake said, “Yeah, no doubt Shredder’s been doing some laundering of his own once he manages to get his hands on people’s bank accounts with their identities. They always follow the same pattern. No murder here, though.”

“Shredder?” Hermione looked at him oddly.

“Oh, don’t mind Peralta,” Amy said, “He likes to give nicknames to all the criminals we’re after.”

Jake scoffed at Amy. “Who wouldn’t? 

“I guess I don’t quite get why you’re calling him Shredder?” Hermione frowned. 

“Because he takes people’s identities, gets what he wants with them, and then shreds the evidence before moving onto the next victim. Duh!” Jake looked at her as if completely shocked that she couldn’t deduce that on her own. “Okay, so maybe it’s because I named him after the most infamous villain who fought against the Ninja Turtles.”

All three looked blankly at him as Amy covered her hands in her face with embarrassment. “What? Don’t tell me you don’t know who the ninja turtles are? Is British pop culture that different from America?” Jake looked shocked. “Wait, have you at least heard of Die Hard? Please tell me you know about Die Hard?”

Ron was trying very hard to think as to whether it was a reference he remembered, as Hermione shook her head. Harry could only muster a “sorry.”

“It’s only the greatest movie of all time!” said Jake, his disappointment obvious. “Maybe we can work the case tonight and then you can watch the greatest movie ever made!” Ron loved a good muggle movie, and Jake didn’t seem all that bad. What else were they going to do while they were here? He was about to accept the offer, when a new presence made themselves known.

“Now, now, now, Jake, you don’t get to keep this specimen all to yourself.” 

“Oh hey, Gina.”

“Jakey, Jakey, Jakey, is that a way to introduce your best friend and colleague properly?” She turned to Harry, Ron and Hermione, “Gina Linetti, the best part about this place. Please excuse them, they refuse to accept that I am the far superior queen around here.”

“Gina, leave them alone, they’re trying to work a case,” Terry called over from his desk. Gina was waving him off when Jake’s phone rang. 

“Peralta,” Jake said as he picked up the phone. Everyone quieted around him. All they could hear was a series of ‘yeahs’ and ‘uh-huhs’ before Jake said, “Okay, see you in thirty,” and hung up the phone. 

“Well??” Amy said impatiently.

“My contact came through! Nolan, you’re with me, we’ve got information to collect!”


	3. Chapter 2: The Informant

The Informant  
Ron found himself in the passenger side of an undercover cop car, riding alongside Jake. “So...we’re going to get information on Gerteso, you think?” Ron asked him.

“Oh, yeah. My informants a solid guy. Well, sort of, he is a criminal, too, but he’s helped me out loads of times. So, tell me about yourself, Nolan. What’s life like in England?”

“Er, ‘bout the same as it is here, I’d expect.” Ron had no idea how much he could really talk about. Sure, their jobs were somewhat similar, and yes, Hermione did a decent job immersing them in Muggle lifestyles, but he had no idea what to say to Jake. “What do you do for fun around here?” Good, that was good, deflecting the question back to him.

“Well, work consumes a big part of my life. The squad’s also my friends, so we spend a lot of time together in and out of the precinct. Rosa and I went to the academy together, Boyle’s my best friend, Captain Holt’s like my dad...uh, forget I said that. We go to Shaw’s a lot after work for a drink or two. We’ll definitely have to do that one of these nights.”

“What about Santiago?” 

“What about her? We used to be rivals, but now it’s just pretend. We work a lot of cases together. She’s a really good person,” Jake was rambling.

“Are you two..?” Ron asked.

“What? Me and Amy. Nah. No way! Just work friends. Why would you think that?”

“Just the way you two act around each other. The playful bickering reminded me of two people I knew. They were totally in love with each other, but too stupid to see it.” Ron said, clearly thinking of himself and Hermione.

Jake made a raspberry noise with his mouth. “What? No, that’s ridiculous,” he said as he shook his head. He wasn’t doing a good job of playing it off. “So are you seeing anyone, then?”

Me, nah. I was- Sophia, but that didn’t work out. What about you? I see that ring on your finger. You seem way younger than me to have your life put so well together.”

“Yeah, I’m married. When you meet the one, you just know I guess,” Ron said thoughtfully.

“Cool, well sorry you’ve gotta be here and not back home with her. I’ll try and make this as fun as I can for you. The offer still stands by the way. If we don’t get any breaks in the case tonight, you and Cooper can come over and we can watch Die Hard. It’s a classic. I can’t believe you haven’t seen it! We’ll grab a drink at Shaw’s with the squad first.”

“Uh, yeah sure, but what about H-Charlotte?”

“I’m sure Santiago’ll invite her to do something. Where are you staying anyway?”

“Some hotel close by. We’ve got a suite we’re splitting.”

“So you three are close, then?”

“Yeah, been best friends since school.”

“Cool. C-c-c-cool.” Jake pulled onto a side street, and parked the car. “Now we wait.”

A short time later, another car pulled up slowly. “He’s here,” Jake said. They waited for him to get out of the car, and then Jake opened his door. Ron followed suit.

“Peralta? Is that you?”

“Of course it is. What have you got for me?” 

“Yeah! Jake, it’s so good to see you, man.” They clapped hands.

“Yeah, yeah, Doug Judy, we’re still enemies so don’t forget that,” Jake said as he bobbed his back and forth, trying to hide the admiration and friend vibes that were so clearly evident.

“Jake, Jake, Jake. You know I’m your best friend. Come on, man. Gimme some sugar,” this Doug Judy character held out his arms and despite the inner struggle, Jake caved.

“Alright, so what have you got for me?’

“Nah, not yet, man. Who’s the new guy?” Doug Judy nudged his chin in the air at Ron.

“This is Agent Brown. He’s cool, you can trust him.”

“Nah, Jake, I know. I trust you, man, but you broke my heart.” Despite asking about Ron, he didn’t seem interested beyond that.

“What? Why?” Jake asked him.

“You sure no one else is in the car? You’re depriving me of seeing my *Rosa, Rosa, Rosaaaaa,*” Doug Judy sang the last part of his sentence. 

“Sorry, Doug Judy, she’s on another assignment. I’m going to pretend to not be upset by that, though. I thought I was enough for you,” Jake was faking tears.

“Aw, Jake, don’t be like that, man.” Doug Judy consoled him. “Alright, Alright, so you wanna know about Gertie?”

“Aw, Gertie! That makes so much more sense than Shredder!” Jake distracted himself again.

“Er, yeah, can you tell us what you know? We’re kind of on a time crunch here,” Ron finally cut in.

“Alright, alright, I feel you, man,” Doug Judy nodded at him. “He’s been laying low in a couple different locations. I can’t tell you where, though. He keeps that info locked up tight, you feel me?”

“So then why are we here?” Ron was becoming impatient.

“Be cool man, be cool. Word has it he’s planning a heist down in Manhattan.”

“Manhattan? But all his theft has been done in Brooklyn so far, why’s he migrating?” Jake asked seriously.

“I don’t know the ‘why’ Jake, that’s your job to figure out.”

“Okay, so where then?” Jake asked. Maybe he was a good detective after all, Ron thought.

“On Broadway. The wooly bear? No...the wooly mammoth! Nah, that’s not it either..”

“The Woolworth building?” Ron asked?

“Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Damn, you Brits are smart!”

“But why would he target that-” Jake wondered aloud.

Ron cut him off. “Is he working alone?”

“I don’t know, man, he’s got some people on the inside. That’s the word on the street any-”

“When?” Ron said curtly.

“Sometime within the next two weeks. I’m not far enough in the inner circle to get details.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us, then?” Ron asked him.

“Yeah, there is! Jake. Karaoke on Friday. 8:00. I’ll see you there, right? It’s been too long,” Doug Judy was looking hopefully at Jake.

“Uh, yeah, I’ll do my best. It’s always a pleasure, Judy. Don’t be a stranger,” Jake said, as Ron started to head back to the car. 

“Jake, we’ve gotta go,” Ron said impatiently.

“Yeah, right.” Jake turned to acknowledge Ron, but when he turned back, Doug Judy had vanished. “NOOO. JUDYYYYYY!” He exclaimed before making his way dejectedly back over to the car.

They were on their way back to the precinct as thoughts were flowing through Ron’s head. He was trying to figure out Gerteso’s motive and why he’d set his sights on the Woolworth building. He noticed Jake pick up some type of telephone device.

“Hey Boyle, it’s Jake...yeah, no I got something good. Start doing some research on the Woolworth building...Yes, the one in Manhattan! We’ll fill you in when we get back.” Ron watched as Jake clicked off the phone.

“What’s so special about the Woolworth building?” Ron was curious why it was special for muggles. He knew why it was significant for magicals, but Jake didn’t know who he really was, so he couldn’t divulge that information. He wouldn’t even be able to debrief Harry or Hermione until who knew when because he had plans to get to know his new partner on the case after. Not that watching a muggle movie sounded bad. Quite the contrary actually, he never got to watch nearly as many action films as he’d like because Hermione just wasn’t into that genre.

“It’s not really. It’s just an office building, with some apartments on the higher floors. Used to be the tallest skyscraper in New York, but that was short lived. We’ll find out more once we get back to the precinct.”

“And you don’t think that Doug Judy was leading you in the wrong direction?”

“Of course not! It was only that one time...but it was more of a round robin way of solving the case. It’ll work out. It’s the first lead we’ve got on this guy. He’s really mysterious. Almost like he can disappear out of thin air anytime we get close.”

“You don’t say…” Ron said, knowing exactly what Jake was implying.


	4. Chapter 3: Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being patient with the slower updates! Here's the next installment - thank you for reading!

Chapter 3: Bonding

“So...do you mind if we take a look at the cases that are already outstanding on Gerteso?” Hermione asked Amy after she watched Ron leave with Jake. She was only slightly worried about him pairing up with Jake. He didn’t seem like the most...reliable of detectives on first glance.

“Oh, yes, of course!” Amy said as she pulled out a pile full of case files. She began going through each one, and Hermione was noticing a pattern.

“Gerteso doesn’t seem to hang on to each of these identities for very long. And he only stole a minimal amount from their bank accounts. Almost nothing to make it significant. Don’t typical identity theft cases open up multiple accounts and try to liquidate a person’s funds for their own gain?” Hermione asked Amy.

Amy pulled some of the files back and reviewed them. “Huh. You’re right. I’m not sure how we missed that before.” Amy looked a little more closely. “He even got a hold of their social security numbers, but never attempted anything with it. What do you think it could mean?”

Hermione furrowed her brow even more. “Is there any correlation between the victims?” She and Amy were reviewing the various cases. “The bank. It’s the same across all the cases!”

Amy grabbed some the files and cross referenced. “Ugh, this is the last time I trust Jake with the paperwork. How did he not catch this?! He really is normally better than this. Well, we’ve got a lead now! Charles, look.” Boyle came over when Amy called his name with Harry trailing behind him. 

“Whoa, Amy, Sterling National Bank? Do we know which one?” Boyles asked.

“It’s….the one two blocks from here!” Amy said looking at Boyle.

“Jason and I can go check it out. See if any of the tellers or the guards noticed anything off.”

“Great, Charlotte and I will comb through these to see if there’s any added correlation of when these took place,” Amy said, clearly throwing herself into work mode.

“Excellent! Jason, come with me,” Boyle said, grabbing his jacket. Harry looked at Hermione, making sure she was okay before following Boyle.

Amy and Hermione set to work, writing down the dates and ordering the case files by bank visit instead of the date they were filed with the precinct. “I can’t believe I didn’t think to do this to start with,” Amy said regretfully. “Captain Holt is going to be so upset with me. How could I let myself get so distracted lately?” She shook her head. 

“Um, is everything alright?” Hermione asked.

“What? Oh, yeah, it’s nothing. Just getting over a breakup that’s all.” Amy sighed.

“I’m sorry. Was it a bad one?” 

“No, no! It was actually needed. I just wasn’t into him at all..” Amy trailed off and glanced over at Jake’s empty desk. Hermione looked in the same direction to see what she was looking at. 

Maybe this is the perfect segue to ask about Jake; make sure Ron’s with a decent partner, she thought. “So, tell me about Jake,” Hermione said, trying to change the subject away from her breakup.

“Jake? What do you want to know?” Amy asked a bit skittishly. She contemplated Charlotte for a moment before making the connection. “If you’re worried about Nolan, don’t be. Jake has an unconventional way of doing a lot of things, but he really is a brilliant detective! You can trust him. Are you and Nolan primary partners on the force?”

“You could say that,” Hermione said. “I just wasn’t sure how serious he was. I tend to worry a bit too much about things, I guess.”

“Me too, but I wouldn’t worry about that,” Amy smiled genuinely at her. “Shall we compare dates, see if we find anything?”

“Sure,” Hermione said, thinking how she really liked her new temporary partner. 

*********************

Harry and Charles checked not only the closest Sterling National Bank to the precinct, but also the other two nearby, to no avail.

“I don’t get it!” Charles said with a disappointed look on his face. “Three banks, and nothing out of the ordinary was seen. Either Gerteso has several accomplices, or he’s incredibly good at disguises.”

That got Harry thinking: the likelihood of an invisibility cloak was slim, but disillusionment charms weren’t unheard of. It wouldn’t be the first time he and Ron had dealt with an elusive criminal because of them. But he couldn’t give that away yet to Boyle. “I doubt he’s got several accomplices. From what we’ve seen, he works alone. You might be onto the disguise thing, though,” Harry told him.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t bring us any closer to catching this guy. It’s like one step forward and two steps back the entire case!” Boyle sighed in frustration. He put the keys in the ignition and began heading back to the precinct. “Amy’s not going to be happy about another deadend. Hopefully Jake can get something., or Rosa on surveillance duty”

“Let’s hope,” Harry agreed.

“Tell me about Nolan,” Boyle changed the conversation abruptly.

“What about him?” Harry asked, watching Boyle’s body language carefully. He seemed protective and...slightly jealous? 

“Well, we protect our own, not that you and Nolan and Charlotte aren’t welcome or anything. Jake’s my best friend. I would never let anything happen to him in the field, so I want to make sure Nolan will have his back like I would.” Boyle was definitely posturing, and that amused Harry, but also concerned him. 

Was he a bad friend for not worrying about Ron in the same way? He shook the thought from his head. No, he just knew his friendship with Ron was stable. Plus, he was a brilliant auror that could hold his own in any situation, so he told Boyle as much.

“Nolan’s a solid guy. You won’t find a better, er, detective. He’s my best mate. Been by my side since we were eleven, so he’s loyal to a fault. No need to worry with him.”

“Good...good.” Boyle said nodding as they pulled up to the precinct. 

Ironically, they pulled in at about the same time Jake and Ron had also returned.

“Jake!” Boyle said, “Any luck? We hit another dead end, but maybe Amy and Charlotte made another break in the case upstairs.”

“We’ve got something, that’s for sure,” Ron muttered as Jake had that giddy look about him.

“Uh, Jake? Buddy? Where’d you guys go, you’ve got that look about you when you...” Charles said and then gave Ron and Harry looks. “Who’d you guys see?”

“Charles, it’s fine! We went to see Doug Judy. Let’s go upstairs and we’ll discuss more,” Jake clarified.

Charles looked affronted. “Jake! I should have known! You’ve never been able to pull away from his charm.” 

**************

“Good, you’re all back,” Captain Holt said. He came out of his office as the elevator dinged, and Jake, Charles, Harry and Ron walked out. “Everyone in the briefing room for an update.”

Once they’d all filed in, Captain Holt started by asking Amy and Hermione to start. “Santiago?”

“Charlotte and I went over the case files of the identity thefts again, and Charlotte found a pattern in the thefts.” Amy looked at Hermione to continue.

“Yes, it appears that even though all aspects of each victim’s identity were stolen, the only thing that was done as a result was stealing a minimal amount out of their bank accounts. No new credit cards, no major purchases, nothing of the sort,” Hermione went on. 

“All of the stolen money has come from accounts at Sterling National Bank. We reordered the case files based on when the money was taken, and Boyle and Cooper went to investigate,” Amy finished.

“Yeah, but unfortunately we didn’t get any new information. None of the tellers or the guards noticed the same person coming in or out to line up with the thefts,” Boyle reported.

“We even checked the other two banks in the area with no luck,” Harry added.

Holt nodded. “Peralta, any news from your informant?”

“Yeah, he said Gertie’s got a few hideouts around Brooklyn, not that he knew where, but he’s definitely working alone. He said his main target is the Woolworth building in Manhattan, but didn’t know when or why.”

Holt nodded his head and pursed his lips. “Diaz? Anything from your angle?”

“Nothing on the surveillance videos today, but if his target’s in Manhattan, I’ll widen the search tomorrow to some of those hole in the wall shops.”

“Well, it’s more than we had this morning. You’re all dismissed for the night. See you in the morning,” Captain Holt said as he walked out.

“Does anyone else feel like we’re no closer than we were when we started?” Diaz asked, as everyone nodded.

As they filed out back to their desks to grab their things, Jake asked Nolan, “So about tonight. Still on for Die Hard?”

Charles heard and immediately chimed in before Ron could answer. “Did I hear Jake suggest a bonding night? I’d watch Die Hard!” he said eagerly.

Rosa sniggered, “Come on, Charles, really? You jealous of Nolan?”

“What? No, of course not, Rosa!” Charles said as Harry tried to stifle his own laugh. “I just thought this would be a fun way to get to know our new partners,” he forged on. “Order some New York pizza, pick up some beer and just hang out.”

Amy piped up, “Actually, Charles has a point. What do you say, Jake?”

“I mean, sure, as long as we get to still watch Die Hard. But my apartment isn’t big enough for all of us…”

“You could come to our place. The, er, NYPD put us up in a two bedroom flat a few blocks from here. We’ve got plenty of space,” Ron offered.

Harry and Hermione looked at him in surprise. Jake, Amy and Charles all nodded in agreement. They all looked at Rosa, who reluctantly agreed.

“How does seven sound?” Ron asked as he scribbled down the address for them.

“I’ll bring the beer,” said Jake. 

“And I’ll get the pizza,” Boyle added.

“Charles, don’t order any of that weird shit you write about on your blog,” Rosa pointed out. “Better yet, I’ll order it, you pick me up at 6:30, and we’ll go together.”

“You don’t trust me?” Boyle asked as Rosa gave him a ‘are you really surprised’ look. “Okay, fair enough.

“I’ll bring some wine and snacks,” Amy said. “See you all tonight!”


	5. Chapter 4: Movie Night

Chapter 4: Movie Night  
Harry, Ron and Hermione left the precinct and walked down the street before ducking down a side street and apparating to the apartment the Ministry had put them up in. When they’d let themselves into the apartment, they collapsed onto the sofa and armchairs in the living room.

“Ron, it’s not that I don’t want to spend some social time with the detectives, but did it have to be tonight? I’m exhausted from traveling and jumping right into the case,” Hermione complained.

“Well, it’s too late now. Besides, when’s the last time we saw a movie? Things have been so busy lately. We’ll be fine, stop acting old,” he said as he flashed her his lopsided grin. Hermione scowled playfully back at him. 

“So about the case,” Harry piped up. “Boyle said something interesting about Gerteso not being noticed at all in the bank. Something about a disguise. I doubt he’s got an invisibility cloak, but what do you think about disillusionment charms?”

“That’s actually a strong possibility, Harry,” Hermione agreed.

“Yeah, that would make sense. He’s definitely been solitary this whole time, working alone. Which makes it harder to know what he’s after. At least the bank is another clue. Also, what’s he after at MACUSA? The 99 obviously doesn’t know why the Woolworth building is important, but now that we’re alone…” Ron said.

“A very good question,” Hermione said, squishing her eyes as she was thinking.

“The wizarding bank isn’t located there, is it?” Harry asked.

“No, but something must be there that he wants..” Ron knew trying to think about it now wouldn’t get them anywhere.

“But the money and the identity thefts...could they be related?” Hermione asked. “Or do you think he’s just biding his time and preying on innocent muggles?”

“Could be either or. We’ve seen more disturbing things during our years on the force,” Ron sighed heavily. 

“Yeah, I don’t reckon we should push it tonight though. I don’t think we’re going to get anywhere,” Harry said. “Besides we’ve got to be focused enough on keeping the glamour charms up. I’m going to go have a nap and a shower, I think.”

“That actually sounds like a great idea,” Hermione said. “We should probably unpack a bit if we’re going to be here a while.” She got up and headed to the bedroom she and Ron would be sharing.

**********************

A few hours later, Harry walked back out to the living room. The Ministry had said that the fridge and pantry was stocked for them, so he figured he should probably see what they could set out so they weren’t terrible hosts. Wasn’t Ron supposed to be doing this? He was the one who invited them over. At least it gave him something to do in the meantime. 

He knew they were awake, so they’d probably be there soon. Harry found some crisps and pulled them out, and then moved to the fridge where there were veggies and a dip of some sort. “Eh, this’ll work,” he said to himself when he heard a knock on the door. He walked over to open it, Rosa and Charles were standing there.

“Hey, Jason, sorry we’re early!” Charles said as Harry gestured from them to come in. Charles set the pizza on the table as he and Rosa made themselves comfortable on the couch. 

“Not a problem. I think Nolan and Charlotte were just finishing up with some work back home. They’ll probably be out in a minute,” Harry said.

“Cool. Man, I didn’t know the NYPD set visiting agents up in such a nice place,” Charles gushed.

“You can go look around if you want. Maybe knock on the closed door to hurry them up if you don’t mind?”

“Really?” Charles didn’t waste a moment looking around the apartment. He disappeared down the hall.

As Charles had finished his self guided tour of their spacious place, he noticed the closed bedroom door, and figured he’d knock and let them know they were there. It’s a shame they’re both married, he noted, remembering the rings. They’d make such a cute couple. Kind of like Jake and Amy if they could ever figure things out!

Charles knocked on the door. He put his hand on the door knob and as he opened it said, “Nolan? Charlotte? Jason wanted me to let you know that we’re- OH MY GOD!” Charles immediately covered his eyes. “Im sorry! I’m so sorry! I’ll- I’ll just” he shut the door quickly.

He then heard a muffled, “Fuck,” come from Nolan as Charlotte said, “We’ll be right out!” Had he really just walked in on Nolan and Charlotte…. Charles walked quickly back out to the living room.

“Charles, what’s wrong with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Diaz harped on him.

“Jason,” Charles hissed. “Are Nolan and Charlotte married?” he asked urgently.

“Er, yeah, why?” Harry said slowly.

“To each other?”

Harry almost said yes, but remembered they were undercover. “No...why?”

“They were- I knocked to let them know we were here and- well, they weren’t working on an assignment that’s for sure.” His low voice turned into a whisper. “They were working on each other! I think they’re having an affair.”

He looked between Rosa and Harry. Rosa shrugged, obviously nonplussed by the situation, and Harry just said, “Oh, I, er- guess I don’t really notice that stuff.” 

“I- shouldn’t you say something?” Boyle asked. He couldn’t believe Harry was okay with it.

“Boyle, give it a rest. Play it cool,” Rosa said as a knock came from the door.

“I got it,” Ron said. He and Hermione had just come out of the room. Neither tried to defend what Boyle had just walked in on.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Jake said as he walked in, followed by Amy. “I’ve got Die Hard!”

“And I’ve got wine! Thanks for inviting us,” Amy said appreciatively.

They all dug into the pizza and passed out drinks while Jake got the movie going. It was your typical action movie, but Jake was super into it, as was to be expected. He was trying really hard not to quote almost everything, but there were times he couldn’t help it. Ron and Harry seemed pretty into the movie, but Hermione just couldn’t get into it. She purposely kept herself busy by taking care of plates, passing out snacks and picking things up/refilling drinks. 

When the movie finally ended, Jake said, “Well, what’d you think?” 

“That was brilliant!” Ron said as Harry nodded. “I wish my wife would let us watch more action movies back home. When we do have time to watch something it’s always those romantic comedies or dramas,” Ron rolled his eyes.

“Well, maybe your wife just has a good taste in movies and doesn’t want to waste her valuable free time watching an action movie unless it has a hot actor in it” Hermione retorted. She was slightly annoyed he was throwing her under the bus like that.

Charles and Rosa were watching interestedly since ‘Charlotte’ seemed to be defending ‘Nolan’s’ wife, which didn’t add up to what Boyle walked in on earlier. Jake and Amy weren’t paying attention since Jake had asked her what she thought.

“It wasn’t terrible…” Amy said. “I guess I could give the others a shot, too. It might make your references a bit more bearable.”

“Really, Ames? Cool! C-c-c-cool! Maybe I’ll pay you back and take part in something you love.”

Amy’s face lit up. “Even if it involved reading?”

Jake groaned, “Don’t even say it.”

“You know which it is?!”

“But there’s so many…”

“Yes, seven books, and you have six movies for me to watch. Tell you what, if you’re not into it by the time you finish the sixth book, you can stop.”

“That sounds like a deal, Santiago. How hard can it be? Title of your sex tape.” Jake said, which got the trio’s attention.

“Oh, don’t mind that, he says that all the time.” Amy explained.

“It’s like his catch phrase,” Charles agreed.

“Interesting choice of a catch phrase…” Hermione said hesitantly.

“I think it’s brilliant,” Ron said.

“Of course you do,” Hermione rolled her eyes.

“What? Jealous because Jake’s a cooler partner than you?” Ron asked. He’d said it playfully, but only Hermione (and maybe Harry) knew that.

“Really? You think I’m jealous? Amy and I happen to be working really well together. I’m not even missing your incorrigible comments,” Hermione huffed.

If there was one thing Harry couldn’t stand, it was when their bickering reached a point where it was starting to become foreplay to them. And right now, it was. Hadn’t they gotten it out of their system earlier?

“I’m just saying, it’s nice to have a partner who-”

“Oh, for the love of fuck will you two just go get a room already?” Harry said, forgetting the 99 was still there.

They froze and Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. “What are you talking about, Jason?”

“Er, nothing, Charlotte. You two just get under my skin sometimes. Desperate times call for desperate measures and all..” Harry said, quickly thinking of a way around it.

“Hardly, mate..” Ron said, rolling his eyes.

“Well, we should probably get going anyways. We don’t want to be late tomorrow,” Rosa said as she stood up. 

Charles quickly followed. “Yeah, tonight was fun. Thanks for having us. We’ll see you in the morning.”

Jake and Amy nodded and followed them out the door. Hermione continued picking things up, as Harry pulled out his wand and cast muffliato on the door, just in case they were hovering.

“What the fuck are you two on about? You can’t just invite them over, and then have a quick romp before they’re expected to arrive!” Harry rounded on them.

“How was I supposed to know you’d send Charles in to get us?” Ron defended.

“I was waiting for Jake and Amy and talking to Rosa! Charles wanted to see the flat, so I figured I’d just have him let you know they were there. You two have been together how long? And you still can’t keep your hands off each other? Now he thinks you’re having an affair. You better straighten things out or you’re going to blow the whole thing. I really don’t want to have to obliviate them.”

“Yeah, yeah alright, but you should probably also not tell us to get a room in front of them either,” Ron smirked at him.

“Then stop bickering for foreplay,” Harry retorted.

“Well, you two can keep talking about my sex life with Ron, but I’m going to bed.” Hermione walked down the hall to their bedroom.

“She’s got a point, you know,” Ron said. “Sorry mate, we’ll be more careful from now on.” 

“Er, right. Thanks. Better rest for a busy day tomorrow,” Harry said as they made their way to bed.


	6. The Duel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> badass auror Ron coming right up!

The Duel  
Several days had passed with no new leads. Amy and Hermione continued poring over the case files with Jake and Ron, while Boyle and Harry staked out the banks. No luck was had all around. They’d all take turns switching with Rosa, who was still mainly manning surveillance. Whoever Gerteso was, he was a master of disguise. 

They were on a late shift about a week into the case, when Rosa caught something on the monitor. “Jake! Come see this,” Rosa said. Jake walked over with Ron not far behind him. “There’s some strange activity going on outside of this oddity shop - McLeod’s. The guy who just walked in seems to match the description of Gerteso. It’s in Manhattan, but might be worth checking out?”

“If we leave now, we can make it over there in 20 minutes. C’mon Nolan, let’s go!” Jake said as they ran out. 

Hermione looked at Amy. “What are the chances he’ll stay in the store that long?”

Amy shook her head. “Slim to none.”

“I’ll be right back,” Hermione said. She had an idea, but it required magic, so she had to move alone. Harry gave her a look. “Just need to make a phone call,” she reassured him. 

Hermione made her way to the bathroom and pulled out her cell phone she’d purchased a few days ago. The one muggle item the Ministry failed to provide. She pulled up the address to McLeod’s on her phone, and just before she was about to apparate, the door opened. Harry walked in.

“Here, take this,” he handed her the invisibility cloak. “If my suspicions about what you’re doing are correct, you’ll need it.”

“Thanks, Harry. Hopefully I won’t be long.” She pulled the cloak over herself and apparated to the nearest alleyway. She moved quickly around to find a back entrance to the store. Luckily there was one, and the door was propped open. She slipped inside and made her way to the front of the store, careful to remain silent the entire time.

“...I know he comes here and you do business with him. Now, I suggest you tell me the next time he’s going to show up.” Yes, that was definitely Gerteso, his wand pointed at the shopkeeper.

“T-tonight. H-he always comes Fridays. At night after the shop’s closed. He meets me in the alleyway next door.”

“That’s what I thought. So here’s what you’re going to do. You’ll contact him, or whatever you do before your meetups, tell him tonight is on, but you’re not going to show up. If you even so much as hint that I’m the one meeting him, you’ll be dead faster than you can blink. Understood?” The shopkeeper nodded in a terrified manner. “Tell him 9:00. And he better be punctual. If it’s earlier or later than your normal meetup, tell him you’ve got something planned and he needs to make it work.” 

Hermione watched Gerteso look around the store and then walk out. She turned around swiftly and snuck out the back. After apparating back into the bathroom of the precinct, she pulled out her phone again, and quickly sent Ron a text giving him the heads up that he’d be back at 9, so they should prepare for a stakeout until then. Looking around, Hermione made sure she was alone before pulling off the cloak. 

When she walked out and back into the hall her phone rang. “Hey.”

“Hey, how’d you know?”

“That’s not important. Just trust me, okay? I’m going to tell everyone here that you guys are gonna hang out there for a while on the off chance he comes back, which he will. There’s no suspicion?”

“I don’t think so. I’m glad we finally have a lead. I’ll figure something out. I’ll probably just meet you back at the flat, depending on how late we are.”

“Sounds good,” Hermione said. “Stay safe.”

“You too,” she heard Ron say before she clicked off the phone. That was their way of saying ‘I love you’ right now. Hermione took a deep breath before heading back to the rest of the group.

********************

Ron and Jake were in the same undercover squad car, parked on a side street, just outside of McLeod’s Bargain Store and Curiosity Shop. Ron had told Jake that when Rosa doubled back on the security footage, she noticed that the security cameras had caught Gerteso lurking around this time every night, so they’d decided to wait and see who or what he was waiting for. They still had a while before he’d make his nightly appearance.  
Jake was looking at the picture they’d brought of him again. “He’s a weird looking dude, isn’t he?” 

Ron looked at the paper. To be honest, he hadn’t thought much of it. In the magical world, they came across all different sorts of creatures and beings so it hadn’t phased him before. But now, looking closely at the picture, Jake was right. His facial features were strong and jagged, accentuated by a thick beard that was trimmed neatly, and a long mane of dark, dark brown hair. His eyes were a golden brown, which added to his mysterious demeanor. His face was rather pale, which didn’t exactly fit the rest of his features. 

Gerteso oddly reminded Ron of Rufus Scrimgeour, a name he hadn’t thought about since the war ended. He made a mental note to ask Harry and Hermione if Gerteso could possibly be a vampire. The chances were slim since Voldemort had exterminated the lot of them in the war, but they had so few details on the case, and they were already a week in, that Ron figured any little suspicion could help.

“Yeah, he is,” Ron finally answered Jake.

“What’s going on with you? You’re quieter than normal tonight,” Jake commented.  
“Just thinking, that’s all,” Ron said quickly. He wished he could talk about the details with Jake, he really did. The whole statute of secrecy thing was really starting to piss him off. They had four strong detectives, two aurors, and Hermione’s brilliance on the case, but because they couldn’t disclose who they truly were, movement was slow going.

“You miss her, don’t you?” Jake asked.

“Who?”

“Hadley? Your wife?” Jake clarified.

“Oh, yeah, I do. The whole no-contact thing is really the hardest,” Ron lied. He and Jake had talked a bit about his personal life before, and Ron had made up a different name for Hermione because it was so unique that he didn’t want to raise any suspicion. Not that they were even known about in the muggle world. But better to be safe than sorry.

“I guess that’s the one good thing about single life. No one would miss me if something happened. Y’know? I don’t have to worry about my reckless lifestyle affecting anyone else but me. I’m the lone ranger in this sad, crazy world!” Jake tried to play it off as cool, but Ron thought there was something more to it than that. Before he could ask, he noticed someone appear across the street.

“Jake, look!” Ron said, pointing to the figure.

“Do you think that’s him?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, I reckon so. He’s headed for that alley. We should follow so we don’t lose sight of him.” Ron said. They opened their doors and shut them quietly. 

Jake and Ron quickly crossed the street and stopped just before the alleyway. Jake looked around the corner and noticed that Gerteso was there with another figure. 

“There’s a dumpster further down that we can hide behind. He’s down there with another person, Jake whispered. They moved down the alley and stopped for cover behind the dumpster.

They watched as something was exchanged between them and Ron was studying the other person. He stealthily grabbed his wand and cast a silent identity charm so he could take back the visual of the person to see if they could figure out who he was. 

Suddenly the other person vanished and Jake grabbed Ron’s arm. “What the hell was that?! Where’d he go!?” They saw Gerteso turn and begin walking back towards them, and before Ron could stop Jake from engaging him, Jake jumped out from behind the dumpster with his gun held out. “NYPD! Freeze!”

“Fuck,” Ron said under his breath as he saw Gerteso raise his wand. He held his own at the ready as he joined Jake quickly in the alleyway. “Protego!” he shouted as he saw Gerteso wave his wand. Luckily he’d cast it in time to deflect a curse from hitting Jake.

“Uh, Nolan? What the fuck is happening right now? Is that a wand? What’s going on? I’m not freaking out. I’m not!” Jake was normally fine under pressure, but this, this was unreal. He had to be dreaming.

“Impedimenta!” Ron shouted. It just missed him as another spell was shot his way. Ron blocked that one again as he yelled “stupefy!” Whoever Gerteso was, he seemed to be moving really quickly, able to dodge everything Ron was throwing at him. He wasn’t using any defensive charms and kept sending jinx after jinx their way.

“Jake, get back behind the dumpster!” Ron said to him as he continued fighting Gerteso. As he shot an incarcerous at him, Ron saw a flash of light shoot out from Gerteso’s wand, but it wasn’t aimed at Ron. Before Ron had time to react, it hit Jake in the leg.

Jake yelled out in pain as Ron turned to see his leg on fire. “Aguamenti!” Ron said, quickly extinguishing the flame. “Shit, Jake!” Ron’s distraction was all Gerteso needed as Ron heard a faint pop and he was gone.

“W-where’d he go? He was just right there. What just happened?”

“Don’t worry about that right now, let me see your leg.” Ron examined it and realized Gerteso had shot out some sort of cursed fire. He’d never seen it before but it looked like it was a lower level of fiendfyre that was obviously much more controlled. Ron placed a freezing and numbing charm on Jake’s leg. “We’ve got to get you back to our flat,” Ron said. “Charlotte will know what to do.”

“What about a hospital?” Jake asked.

“We can’t take you to a hospital for this. It should be treatable at home. Don’t worry, I’ve already stopped the pain for now. Look, Jake I really can’t explain what this was about, and I’m really sorry that I have to do this…” Ron held up his wand and cast ‘obliviate.’ He watched Jake’s eyes go fuzzy and then refocus again.

“What happened? Did he get away? He was just right there!”

“Yeah, mate, he struck a match and caught your leg on fire, and took off. I was able to put it out, but we’ve gotta get you back to heal it. Do you think you can drive? You don’t want me driving, that’s for sure. Opposite side of the road and all...” 

“Uh, yeah, I think so. Why doesn’t it hurt?”

“Er, I had some of this special numbing cream to put on it. British specialty.” Ron really hated lying to Jake. “It should hold until we get back to my place. Hold on while I call Amy and Charlotte.” Ron was thinking quickly. There were totally gaps in his story, but he had to roll with it. And Jake was still sort of loopy enough from the obliviation that he was buying it.

Ron dialed Amy since it was the first contact in his phone. He still wasn’t sure how to work the damn thing properly. 

“Hey Nolan, what’s up?” he heard Amy answer.

“Uh, Amy, we had an incident. Can you meet us at our flat?”

“Is everything okay? Nolan, what happened?” Amy said worriedly.

“I can’t tell you right now. Just meet us back at the flat.” Ron hung up the phone. He helped Jake get up and got him back to the car. Thankfully it was his left leg that was injured, so he was still able to drive. 

“What did Amy say?” Jake tried to ask casually.

“She asked what happened. Sounded pretty worried,” Ron responded. “They’re going to meet us at the flat.”

“Oh, good. Yeah, that’s cool,” Jake played it off.

“You like her, don’t you?” Ron smirked at him.

“What? No, of course not! We’re work partners,” Jake defended.

“Doesn’t mean you don’t fancy her,” Ron said. “I’m gonna give you some advice. Just go for it, mate. I waited seven years, and somehow I was lucky enough to still get her. A girl like Amy reminds me of my own. They’re too good to wait around, so don’t wait forever.”

Jake looked at him. “You waited seven years to make a move?”

“Yeah, but thankfully she’d always felt the same way. The way you and Amy banter back and forth, reminds me of me and her way back.”

Jake spluttered a bit and made some noncommittal sounds. It seemed like it took ages to get back to their flat, but when they arrived, they saw Amy, Boyle, Harry and Hermione waiting for them. Charles and Harry helped Ron get Jake out of the car and up to their apartment. They laid Jake down on the couch and Hermione gave Ron a serious look.

“Jake. Jake! It’s gonna be okay, buddy. You’re gonna live. You have to live! The world’s not ready for you to leave it,” Boyle was lamenting overdramatically.

“What happened?” Amy asked, cutting him off. “Did you catch Gerteso?”

“Well, Gerteso met up with someone else,” Ron said, “They finished whatever exchange was made and he went to leave, but we tried to stop him. He put up a fight, and ended up striking a match and tossing it at Jake, hence the burn. He took off when I went to help Jake.”

“Nolan, why does the burn look so odd,” Amy said. “And how is it not hurting him?”

“I put numbing cream on it. I’ve got another British burn salve that should help. I just need to go grab it. Charlotte, could you check your bag for it? I can’t remember which bag it was in. Jason, could you search your stuff, too? We left so quickly last week I don’t remember who packed what.” Ron nodded towards Hermione who followed them into the room.

Hermione shut the door. “What happened?” she hissed. 

“Yeah, mate,” Harry said. “He doesn’t look good.”

Ron was searching for the dittany. That should do enough to heal it without Jake needing additional medical assistance. Ron pulled out his wand and cast muffliato on the door. “Jake jumped out at him when the other guy disapparated. I had to step in and duel him. Hermione, he moves really fast. He wasn’t even using defensive spells. And I think he used some form of adapted fiendfyre that was much more controlled than what we’ve encountered. It’s definitely cursed fire that Jake got hit with. It’s going to heal, but the scar is going to be awful. The dittany will help.”

“Ron! You could have-”

“I’m fine, Hermione. This is what I do. I’m an Auror. Jake’s already been obliviated, too. Now, here, take this, and figure out who it is,” Ron used his wand to draw up the charm he’d cast earlier of the other suspect. “If we can figure out who this is, maybe we can figure out what Gerteso’s after. Boyle and Harry can stop stalking the bank and tail him when we figure it out.”

Hermione sighed, “Alright, but you know I can’t take care of it until they leave.”

“Yeah, I know,” Ron said. “Let’s get back out there, the sooner we get this dittany on him, the better. Can you distract them while I apply it? Then we’ll see if Charles or Amy can stay with him tonight.”

They went back out and Ron was able to place the dittany on Jake’s leg, thanks to Harry and Hermione pulling Amy and Charles aside. “You should be good, aside from a nasty scar, but at least we don’t need to go to the hospital. Charles, Amy, can one of you stay with him tonight?” Ron asked.

“Of course! Anything for Jake,” Charles said quickly. Ron noticed the slight disappointment look on Amy’s face when Charles beat her to it. 

“Uh, Charles,” Hermione cut in, “maybe you could take this back to the precinct to get an ID on the second person? I’m sure Amy can take Jake home and stay with him. You could relieve her later?”

“Oh, yes, of course!” Charles said, taking the paper that Hermione had no doubt materialized for him. “As long as Amy’s okay with that?”

“What? Oh, y-yeah, I guess I can for a few hours tonight. But I’ll need your help getting him there if he can’t walk.” Amy looked gratefully at Hermione, although a little surprised at her suggestion. “We’ll see you all at the precinct tomorrow? We should probably at least debrief for a couple hours. I’m sure Holt will be fine with the overtime.”

Harry nodded. “That should work. Let’s get some rest for now, though. We’ve all put in more than enough hours today.”

Everyone nodded in agreement as they helped Jake up and saw them out. They had so much to discuss, but they had to wait until they were sure the detectives were gone. This case just kept getting weirder and weirder.


	7. Chapter 6: A Break in the Case

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Special shout out to Avatar Vader for helping storyboard the ideas in this mystery fic. I’d still be stuck on chapter 3 without him.

After receiving word that Jake had gotten home safely, Ron collapsed onto the sofa. Harry and Hermione joined him. “So what exactly happened?” Harry asked.

Ron took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “We waited for him to show up, which he obviously did. He was looking for some information from that wizard in the alley. They definitely exchanged something, but it was too dark and I couldn’t see anything.”

“Well, at least you got the facial recognition on him. I should be able to scour the databases tomorrow with Amy,” Hermione interrupted.

“How? We don’t have access to any MACUSA directories in the muggle world.” Ron looked warily at her.

“Don’t worry,” Hermione said, taking out a small flash drive from her pocket. “It’s all here, but disguised as muggle technology, so they won’t suspect anything.”

“Brilliant, you are,” Ron said.

“What about Gerteso?” Harry brought their attention back to the main focus. 

“Right. He was really quick to duel. We’re not going to be able to take him down single handedly. Have either of you really studied his picture?” Both Hermione and Harry kind of shrugged. “Here, take a look. He reminds me a lot of Scrimgeour. Could he be a vampire?”

“I don’t know Ron, the physical description matches, but the vampires in England were all but exterminated by Voldemort. And Gerteso isn’t listed as one..” Hermione contemplated.

“Maybe that’s why he’s not listed as one. To somehow protect him from that slaughter in 1998,” Ron suggested.

“Why did Voldemort kill off all the vampires anyway? Out of spite for Scrimgeour?” Harry asked.

“No,” said Hermione plainly. “He was threatened by Vampire Mob, so he thought it would be easier to just kill them all. I’m not sure what he was thinking since it’s far more prevalent in Italy and in…” she trailed off and looked at them.

“Hermione, you know we hate when you trail off like that. Will you finish the sentence?!” Ron admonished.

“....New York City.”

“You don’t think..” Harry asked.

“Maybe,” Hermione said.

“Finally a decent break in the case!” Ron pumped his fist in the air.

“We don’t know for certain, though!” Hermione reminded him.

“But it’s closer than we’ve been all week,” Harry countered.

“So, about tomorrow then,” Ron said with a renewed sense of optimism. “Hermione, you and Amy will search for the second person in the systems. I’ll work with Jake to find out more about Gerteso’s origins. Harry, it might be best if you, Boyle and Diaz went to visit McLeod’s to see if you can get any information out of that shop owner. We wouldn’t want him to somehow recognize Jake or me from any cameras he may have set up,” He formulated the plan out loud.

“If we can get some solid evidence backing our claims, we should probably see Captain Holt about touching base with Kingsley,” Harry said.

“I’m surprised he hasn’t reached out. It’s been a week,” Hermione frowned.

“Well, hopefully we’ll have something for him tomorrow. Let’s get to bed,” Ron said as he got up and headed for the other room.

********************************  
The next day everyone on the team had a lie in before heading into the precinct. Ron went through the plan he’d thought of last night, and everyone set to work on their respective duties that Ron had assigned. Hermione walked over to the copier and scanned in the paper that Ron gave her last night. She opened up the laptop and inserted the flash drive. When the picture came in, she forwarded it to Amy.

“Why don’t you search the NYPD database, while I search the British ones here,” Hermione suggested to Amy, who nodded. It took a while to sift through the electronic system, but suddenly a match came up. 

The mystery person’s name was Artie Rettinburg. He was a wanted smuggler, who specialized in selling stolen wand info. Hermione choked on the coffee she had taken a sip of when she saw it. Of course! Stealing muggle identities could have been practice for stealing magical identities. Is this why Gerteso needed access to the Woolworth building? Or did Rettinburg have what Gerteso was looking for? 

Hermione began furiously scribbling information down. She supposed she could have just printed it, but there was something satisfying about handwriting it. As she was finishing up, she noticed one piece of information at the bottom. ‘Has been involved in squib trafficking circles - known low level lackey for The Cryptic.’ 

“Whoa,” Hermione let escape her lips. 

“What’d you find? I haven’t had any luck at all,” Amy looked frustrated.

“His name’s Artie Rettinburg. He’s a wanted smuggler, specializing in selling identities.”

“So Gerteso’s still on the identity kick.”

“Looks like it. I’ll go call Ha-Jason and Boyle.”

Hermione got up and dialed Harry. “Hey, we’re just pulling up to McLeod’s. Did you find anything?”

“Yes, I did! The second suspect’s name is Artie Rittenburg. Try and see if the owner can tell you anything. Maybe you can find and apprehend him. We really need this Harry. There’s more to it that I can’t talk about now, but he’s all magic, no muggle,” Hermione lowered her voice.

“Got it. We’ll do our best, Charlotte.” 

Hermione hung up the phone and walked back in. Now she needed to learn more about the Italian mob, and see if there were any connections to the Vampire mob. Where was the Hogwarts library when she needed it…

*******************

“That was Charlotte,” Harry said. “We’re looking for an Artie Rittenburg,” he told Boyle and Diaz.

“Right, okay so how do we want to play this?” Boyle asked.

“I think Rosa should go in. Pretend to be looking for him because he owes her and hasn’t paid up. See if we can get a location out of him.” Harry thought out loud.

“That shouldn’t be too hard. Do you have the coms, Boyle?’ Diaz asked. She took the earpiece and tiny microphone from Boyle and hooked it up. 

Boyle did the same and Harry followed suit. They all nodded and Rosa took off. Harry was pretty impressed at Rosa’s ability to be intimidating and gather information. It didn’t take long for the shop owner to give up the whereabouts of Rettinburg’s location. Of course it all made sense that several of the goods from his store were smuggled illegally so he could take a bigger cut.

“...Okay, okay! He’s got a shipment coming in at 2:00 in the harbor!” the shopkeeper had said.

Rosa checked her watch and made her way out of the store. “Better buckle up Jason, we don’t have long to get there. Rosa’s got this one.” Sure enough, Rosa opened the driver side door and jumped in. The keys were in the ignition and Rosa floored it. 

They made it to the harbor in record time, just as one of the shipping freights was settling into the dock. “We’ll have a better shot if we split up,” Diaz suggested. Harry nodded, placed his hand on his holster and took off in one direction, while Boyle and Diaz went in other directions. 

When Harry was out of sight of them, he turned off the mic to his com, grabbed his wand and had it at the ready. He saw someone on the far side of the dock, and noticed a shipping container that was near that he could apparate to and hide behind. He did so, and then peered around the corner. That was Rittenburg alright. Harry looked around, and once he was satisfied that no one was around, he cast an anti-apparition charm around them.

Harry stepped out from behind the container and began walking up slowly behind him. When he was satisfied he was close enough, Harry said clearly, “Artie Rittenburg, you’re under arrest.” 

Artie jumped around in surprise, but before he could pull his wand, Harry cast incarcerous, and he was tangled in a set of ropes.

“I didn’t do nothin’!” He spat. 

“Maybe not yet,” Harry said as he quickly pulled out the muggle handcuffs and cuffed his wrists, “But you certainly did last night with Gerteso, and we’re interested in what it was. I’ll be taking that.” Harry took his wand and tucked it away in his jacket. “Oh, by the way, you’re being apprehended by muggles, er, no-majs, so they don’t need to know anything about magic.” Harry cast a complicated language jumbling charm that should hold through his questioning back at the precinct. It would change his words depending on the listener. If they were magical, it’d be the real story. If they were muggle, the spell would alter the story to make it believable in the muggle world.

Harry turned his com back on. “I got him. Meet you back at the squad car.” He vanished the ropes, satisfied the cuffs were working. Harry then yanked him up to his feet and half dragged him back to the car. 

“Nice work, Cooper!” Boyle said as Diaz nodded in agreement. “Let’s head back to the station and interrogate this piece of scum!”

***********

Back at the station, Jake and Ron were working on learning everything they could about Gerteso, with minimal luck. Hermione and Amy had teamed up with them after identifying Rittenburg, so they were looking at things from the Italian mob angle. But before they’d done so, Amy had pulled Hermione aside.

“Hey, about last night..” Amy had said.

“What about it?” Hermione asked, feigning ignorance.

“Just, suggesting I take the first ‘shift’ with Jake. You know Charles would have spent the whole night there with no break.” Amy was trying to play it cool, and Hermione tried to hide the smirk. “You know Charles, he would do anything for Jake. It was smart for you to suggest I stay there for a little bit. So I guess I’m, um, thanking you for Charles!”

“Anytime,” Hermione said, no longer able to hide her facial expression.

“What’s that look for Charlotte?” Amy asked.

“Nothing! Just that you’re a terrible liar,” Hermione laughed.

“I am not!” Amy said, acting affronted.

Hermione gave her a look. She leaned in closer and whispered. “Come on, you don’t have to lie to me...I can tell you like him.”

“I- no, that’s not-” Amy shook her head. “It would never work. He’s too goofy and not serious about anything, and I’m- a rule follower and maybe too serious for him.”

“Whatever you say,” Hermione said.

Amy wanted to retort, but thought better of it when she noticed Gina trying to eavesdrop from her desk. It was then that she’d suggested they team up with the guys. Jake and Amy set to work scouring the databases for mob members, hoping to find a match with Rittenburg, Gerteso, or The Cryptic, while Ron and Hermione were doing the same thing but on the disguised servers. There were no mentions of Gerteso anywhere, and Rittenburg was mentioned once or twice, but his involvement wasn’t notable. 

The Cryptic was mentioned many times, but only as a suspicion. No hard evidence was ever found that connected him to anything. There were dozens of missing persons cases. All squibs, which lined up with what Hermione found with Rittenburg. They were about to take a break when Harry, Charles and Rosa returned with Rittenburg in custody. Rosa brought him into the interrogation room as Harry and Charles joined the rest of the group.

“You got him!” said Jake, who tried to stand up, but quickly sat back down as he winced in pain.

“Yes! Who’s ready for interrogation time?” Charles asked excitedly. 

“Do you think he’ll actually give us some answers?” Hermione said worriedly.

“They always break eventually,” Ron reassured her.

“I think Brown and Cooper should go in first, and see what they can get.” They all turned to see Holt standing in the doorway of his office.

“But Captain Holt-” Jake started to say.

“Peralta, you were injured last night. He doesn’t need to see that. It may keep him tight-lipped if he knows what more Gerteso’s capable of. Brown, Cooper, I’ll expect a word in my office following the interrogation,” Captain Holt said firmly.

“Yes, sir,” Harry and Ron both said. Ron helped Jake up as Charles handed him his crutch and the six of them went to meet Rosa down the hall.

After making sure everyone was settled, it was time for Harry and Ron to enter on the other side of the glass and get some answers. They stopped outside the door. Ron looked at Harry, and knowing what he was thinking, Harry said, “Don’t worry, I did the dialogue changing charm. The magical elements will be adjusted for muggle ears.” Ron nodded as he opened the door and walked inside.

“Mr. Rettinburg,” Ron said first.

“Who’re you? You weren’t one of the cops that arrested me,” Rettinburg spat.

“No, but I am working this case with them. “I’m Agent Brown, and I believe you’ve met Agent Cooper. We’re with the British Auror division, and we’re hoping you’ll cooperate with us.”

“I wasn’t doin’ nothin! You can’t prove anything!” Rettinburg said quickly.

“We didn’t say that you were, though if you keep denying it, we may have cause to hand you over to MACUSA,” Harry threatened.

“You mean you’re not going to already?” This got Rettinburg’s attention. 

“Maybe not, depending on if you choose to cooperate,” Ron said. “You met with Howard Gerteso last night in the alleyway by McLeod’s shop. What did he want?”

“Can’t tell you that. Swore to secrecy.” Rettinburg clearly wasn’t going to give it away that easily.

“Did he force you into an unbreakable vow?” Harry pressed.

“Well, no I ain’t that stupid-” 

“Then there’s no real reason why you can’t tell us,” Harry said simply.

“Said he’d kill me if I ratted him out though,” Rettinburg defended.

“Ratted him out to who?” Ron asked.

“Can’t tell you that,” Rettinburg smirked.

“Us?” Harry asked, starting to lose his patience.

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

Ron didn’t normally play his best move this early, but they were on a time crunch. “The Cryptic?” He raised an eyebrow as he said it.

All of the color drained from Rettinburg’s face. “Y-you know about The Cryptic? Nobody’s supposed to know about him!”

“So he does exist,” Ron said, lying out of his ass. “We all thought he was only a figment of the imagination.”

“ ‘Course he exists! He’s as real as Al Capone, but better! Everyone would kill to be in his inner circles.”

“Are you in his inner circles?” 

Rettinburg laughed bitterly. “Nah. I don’t have the right make-up if you know what I mean.”

“So you’re not a vampire,” Harry said.

“You’re observant, aren’t you,” Rittenburg said sarcastically.

“So what does Gerteso want with The Cryptic?” Ron tried to get him back on track.

“You really stupid enough to think he’d tell me?”

“But it does have to do with The Cryptic?”

“I assume so, but I’d never be able to get my hands on those kinds of records.”

“What records?” Harry jumped in.

“You’ll let me go if I tell you?”

“That depends,” Ron said. “The very least, we’ll make sure your charges are lessened for cooperation.”

“But I didn’t give ‘im nothin! Wanted his wand records, didn’t he? I can hook ‘im up with lower level people, but somethin’ that high up? No way. He’s gonna have to break into MACUSA himself to get those records. I’ll keep to my low life smuggling, thank you very much!” Harry and Ron both grinned as Rettinburg realized what he’d just admitted. “Oh, shit, no! Did I say smuggle? I meant receive the perfectly legal goods I purchased!”

“Maybe we could forget the smuggle part if you can give us a day or time when Geresto is trying to break into MACUSA and steal the records?”

“Why would I know that? I only told him that wand records can be found on the fourth floor in the legal documents office!”

“Just keep digging a deeper grave,” Ron chuckled. “Is there anything else you can tell us about The Cryptic or Geresto that might make us forget that little slip?”

“Pretty sure Geresto’s a vampire,” Rettinburg offered. “Something about taking his ‘rightful’ place in the Sanguinity. But that’s all I know, I swear! Now, will ya let me go?”

Harry and Ron looked at each other, making sure they didn’t have any more questions between the two. They nodded in agreement as they uncuffed him and prepared to let him out of the room. Harry opened the door and saw him out as Ron stopped, blocked by the door, and discreetly placed a tracking spell on him. He’d make sure to tell Kingsley to have the MACUSA Aurors after him.

“I’ll see you out,” Harry said after they’d agreed to meet back in the common office space. Ron went to join the others in the room. 

“That was incredible!” Boyle gushed. “You and Cooper worked so well together that it’s almost like you two have been partners for years and not you and Charlotte.”

“Er, thanks, Boyle. It’s probably the best mate thing,” Ron said, trying to divert the insinuation.

“Nevermind that,” Amy said quickly. “We know what Gerteso’s after now! He wants The Cryptic’s personal information, and can only get that in the archives on the fourth floor of the Woolworth.”

“Yeah, Ames, but what’s he want with them? I doubt he just wants to steal his identity. Though that bit about ‘taking what’s rightfully his’ sounded creepy, yet intriguing,” Jake commented.

“If Gerteso can gain The Cryptic’s personal information, he may be able to track him down.”

“So we could potentially catch a mob boss and Gerteso if we let Gerteso keep going?” Diaz suggested.

“Potentially,” Hermione said slowly. “But I think that needs to be discussed with Captain Holt and Agent King first.”

Ron nodded. “Charlotte’s right, we should go meet Jason now so we can discuss next steps.”


	8. Chapter 7: Changing Headquarters

Chapter 7: Changing Headquarters

When Harry arrived back up on the elevator, he and Ron walked over to Captain Holt’s office. “Come in,” they heard him say, “And shut the door.” The blinds were already drawn so that no one could see in for their particular meeting. “How was the interrogation?” Holt asked.

“Well we’ve received more information, which is promising,” Harry said. “Is there a possibility that King can be a part of this debriefing, too?”

“Ah, forgive me. I almost forgot.” Holt walked over to the portrait and said, “We are ready for Minister Shacklebolt now.” The figure in the portrait nodded and disappeared off the side of the frame. No sooner had the figure disappeared than Kinglsey appeared in their place. 

Harry and Ron both looked surprised. Kingsley registered their shock and explained. “The Ministry has been working hard to develop portraits where the owner can ‘step into the frame’ if you will, to have a conversation. It’s a bit like using the floo, but works in long distance cases. It’s good to see you both! Now where do we stand? What have I missed?”

Ron spoke up. “Well, we had a lead on Gerteso yesterday. We tailed him and witnessed an exchange in Manhattan outside of McLeod’s. When the second person, who we were able to identify as Artie Rettinburg, disapparated, it spooked Jake and he broke our cover to try and arrest Gerteso. I dueled him, but it was unlike anything I’ve been in combat with before. He didn’t use a single defensive spell, and got away when he injured Jake.”

Kingsley nodded, so Ron continued. “Jake is fine, it was a low level fire curse, but I had to obliviate him and make up a muggle story for his injury with the rest of the team, which seems to be holding. We were able to bring Rettinburg in for questioning today, and he seemed to solidify some of our hunches.”

“Which are?” Kingsley asked interestedly.

“Ron believes Gerteso is a vampire, and is after someone or something with the Vampire Mob,” Harry said.

“Sanguinity?” Kingsley asked concerningly. “But Voldemort extinguished the entire population of vampires in Britain. There’s a very slim chance that Gerteso is actually a vampire, as he is British.”

“Not unless Gerteso wasn’t on any Ministry record, which we’ve found surprisingly little on him anywhere. The only way we were able to obtain his actual name was through the spells he cast while at Gringotts, and the fact that Ollivander kept meticulous records and hid them well away so Voldemort couldn’t obtain them before he was captured,” Ron countered. “Minister, er, Kingsley, he’s got the speed and agility that’s often associated with them, and the physical description matches, too. Plus, Rettinburg all but suggested he’s a vampire. He said Gerteso mentioned claiming what was rightfully his.”

“Which is? Kingsley and Holt both said at the same time.  
“Something from The Cryptic. It sounds like Gerteso wants to kill him off and take his place,” Harry said. 

“It all fits, even down to the muggle identity thefts. He was biding his time practicing there until he could get his hands on the wand records so he could trace and locate The Cryptic.”

“But how does the laundering fit into that?” Kingsley pressed.

“We haven’t discussed it,” Harry spoke, “but my theory is that he needs it to pay his way into the inner circles.”

Ron nodded. “That would make sense. Lackeys like Rettinburg never get close to The Cryptic. Gerteso would need gold to buy his way in, especially if his vampire status isn’t well known.” 

“Forgive me for interrupting, but what I don’t understand is what revenge Gerteso is actually after. What is, as he believes, rightfully his?” Holt asked.

Kingsley looked at the three pensively. “I have a contact in Italy that may be able to clarify things for us. I should be back soon,” Kingsley walked off out the side of the portrait.

No sooner had Kingsley left, there was a knock on the door before it burst open. A short, bony blonde woman walked in with a look that crossed between equally furious and amused. “Raymond, Raymond, Raymond, did you really think you could conduct an investigation on my turf?” the woman seethed.

“I’m sorry Captain Holt, I tried to stop her,” they could hear Gina say from outside the office.

Holt ignored Gina as he said, “Wuntch. Who let you out of your cage in Satan’s hell hole?” Ron and Harry were rather taken aback at the Captain’s changed demeanor. 

“You did when you decided to prance into Manhattan and arrest a man in my area! Have you lost all common courtesy to call and ask permission before waltzing in and picking up an innocent Manhattanite?”

“He wasn’t innoc-” Harry said angrily, but Captain Holt held up a hand to stop him.

“He most certainly wasn’t innocent, Madeline, but we didn’t bring him in for his crimes. We brought him in for questioning and then let him go, if you must know,” Holt said those last four words in a manner which reminded both Harry and Ron of Snape. Each word was drawn out and dripped with conviction.

“I don’t believe you,” Wuntch said, getting a little too close into Captain Holt’s face.   
“You don’t have to,” Holt said without backing down. 

Kingsley broke the silent stare down when he reappeared in the portrait. He quickly realized there was another person in the office and froze, but it was too late. Madeline had seen him. “Wh-what was that?” she asked. Her stone cold demeanor breaking.

“Nothing, Wuntch, Satan’s probably playing tricks on your eyes,” Holt said.

“No, Raymond, that portrait was empty a second ago and now there’s a man in there,” Wuntch insisted.

Harry grabbed hold of his wand, and, blocked partially by Ron so Wuntch couldn’t see, held it up and cast obliviate. Instantly, Wuntch was none the wiser of what just happened. Once the haze had lifted, she shot Holt another look. “I’ll be watching you closely, Raymond.” With that, Madeline Wuntch turned swiftly on the spot and marched out of the room. 

Holt walked over and shut the door after she’d left and looked back to Ron, Harry and Kingsley. “I’m sorry about that rude interruption,” he said.

“Who was that?” asked Harry.

“My arch-nemesis on the force. Satan’s spawn. Thank you for your help in, wiping her memory, is it?”

Harry nodded as Ron looked at Kingsley’s portrait. “Any news?”

“Yes, actually. I think we’ve found a motive on why Gerteso is after The Cryptic. My contact tells me that The Cryptic is the head of the Sanguinity’s New York division. Apparently, Gerteso attempted to appeal to Sanguinity leaders in Italy, claiming he was a vampire, but had no records to back it up. They dismissed him and his request to start the London division anew following the second wizarding war.”

“So he’s out to claim a division of his own...what’s ‘rightfully’ his,” Harry said.

“Exactly.”

“But why would he choose New York? Why not choose a smaller, less prevalent city? Say, Boston or San Francisco?” Holt pondered.

“Probably to flex. Prove he can take down one of the most powerful leaders within the Sanguinity,” Ron offered his suspicions. “But here’s the real question. Do we stop by just catching Gerteso? Or do we let him lead us to the Cryptic and try and break the New York division as well.”

“Our jurisdiction strictly lies in the capture of Gerteso,” Kingsley said firmly. “Though I do not think that the American Aurors would disregard any leads you may have for them in relation to The Cryptic.”

Harry and Ron nodded while Kingsley continued. “Now that we know roughly what Gerteso is after, it would be wise to station you closer to Gerteso’s targeted location. MACUSA has offered their penthouse suite as a new headquarters for your team. They are currently outfitting it with all of the necessary items you’ll need for surveillance and research, including history books on the mob and history of vampires for Charlotte. I suggest you go back to your current flat and pack up your things. You’ll be able to move locations in a couple hours. You’ll use the code 2598 to gain access into the building and the bellhop will check your identity before passing on your keys. If you need me, call Holt for correspondence.” Harry and Ron nodded, as Kinglsey left the frame. 

***********************

The penthouse suite was surreal. Of course, it was magical in nature, so they were sure that it had been manipulated to fit their needs. They walked into a spacious living room and kitchen/dining area. The living space had plenty of seating and there were several computers set up around the edge of the room for research purposes, as well as a large bookshelf, filled with whatever they might need. There were two wings with bedrooms and bathrooms. Two bedrooms on either side, making four in total. Each room had two full beds with an adjoining bathroom in the middle to share. Charles was insistent that the girls take one side, and the boys take the other, probably to prevent Nolan and Charlotte’s ‘affair’ from continuing. 

It was late evening and the seven members of the team had settled into their new headquarters. Everyone had decided to disperse for bed, in order to get a good night’s sleep before tackling all of the research. When the coast was clear, Hermione had snuck over to the boy’s room and cast muffliato on the door so no one could hear their conversation. They were discussing the potential plan of setting up a watch within the wand records office in MACUSA. Ron and Harry were in agreement that they should go into MACUSA to keep an eye on things.

“...But do you really trust that the 99 is going to let you and Harry team up on this?” Hermione asked Ron. “Maybe we need to tell them. We can’t have anything mess this up! He could make his move tomorrow for all we know.”

“You heard Kingsley, we can’t Hermione! Man, I love you, but it’s a good thing you didn’t become an Auror,” Ron said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hermione gave him a look.

“Just that you’re not thinking the right way about this mission. We’ll figure it out tomorrow when we suggest the assignments. They haven’t gone against our ideas yet, so I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Ron tried to explain.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Well, hopefully you do team up with Harry because you’re starting to adopt some of Jake’s mannerisms. When have you ever said, ‘man?’”

“Like you haven’t taken up some of Amy’s hobbies?” Ron tilted his head towards the binders in the corner of the room.

“Yeah, okay, on that note, I’m going to bed,” Harry said. “You two can share this room.”

Harry got up and headed for the door. None of them had realized that they’d relaxed their glamour charms. It was a nightly routine they’d gotten into the habit of. What was worse, was that their scars were becoming visible again, and it had all gone unnoticed thus far. Harry opened the door and stepped out, only to stop dead in his tracks. Jake and Amy were on the couch, heads close together in what looked like it could have been a snog.


	9. Chapter 8: The Jig is Up

Chapter 8: The Jig is Up  
Amy walked out of hers and Rosa’s room that they were sharing in the large penthouse headquarters suite. She saw Jake sitting on the couch in the living area. “Hey,” she said quietly.

“Hey,” he returned. 

“What are you doing up?” she asked.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Same.” Amy joined him on the couch. 

“I may have to sleep out here because of Boyle’s snoring,” Jake said jokingly. 

They were silent for a moment before Amy spoke again. “I’ve got a random question for you. It’s probably nothing, but I feel like ever since we brought Rettinburg in for questioning, Jason, Nolan and Charlotte have been acting odd. Don’t you think it was weird that only Jason and Nolan went into Captain Holt’s office to debrief?”

Jake thought for a moment.“I wasn’t really thinking about it, but now that you mention it, something did feel a bit off, but I’m not going to worry about it. They’re probably just used to working with each other. Just like we are.”

“Yeah, but we were told to partner up with them specifically, and now it seems like they’re trying to break that,” Amy said as she frowned. 

“You know, Ames, you may have a point now that I actually think about it. Nolan and I have been working so well together, but it did sound like he wants to be with Jason tomorrow when we go out on watch. I wonder why.”

“It’s probably because you’re injured,” Amy attempted a joke about his leg. “Well, I guess we could think about it this way...if you had the choice, wouldn’t you choose me or Diaz or Boyle? We all have partners we’re more comfortable working with. So you’re right, it’s probably nothing. Sorry for stirring things up in your head.” Amy scooched closer to Jake and put her hand on his.

Jake looked up at her then, and Nolan’s words were stuck in the back of his mind. ‘Just go for it, mate. I waited seven years, and somehow I was lucky enough to still get her. A girl like Amy reminds me of my own. They’re too good to wait around, so don’t wait forever.’ 

“Yeah, okay. Listen, Ames, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you,” Jake said as he leaned in closer.

“Oh? What is it?” Amy asked, her heart beating a little faster in her chest.

Jake was about to kiss her when he heard the door open and noticed an unfamiliar male come out of Jason and Nolan’s room. They were undercover, and couldn’t have visitors, so who was this? He stood up quickly, reaching for his side holster. This caused Amy to fall forward onto the couch because her weight had been leaning towards Jake. He’d apologize for that later.

“Who are you and what are you doing here? Freeze! Hands in the air!” Jake said. By this point, Amy had stood up and turned to see what was going on. 

“Jake it’s me, it’s- it’s Jason,” the person said.

“You aren’t Jason! I know who Jason looks like. Why were you in Jason and Nolan’s room? Nolan? Jason? Are you alright in there?” Jake nodded to Amy who picked up the handcuffs and walked over to cuff him. 

Jake moved quickly to the door to see if they were alright. “Guys, are you alright?” Jake wasn’t expecting to see Charlotte standing in the room while Nolan was sitting on the bed. Jason was nowhere to be found. “Charlotte? What are you doing here? Who is this random guy who just came out of your room?” Jake was really confused now. Everything he and Nolan had talked about with his wife, and yet Charlotte was in his room, alone. Well, that guy did just come out of it, but it wasn’t like Nolan was following him. They looked quite comfortable around each other.

“Jake, I’m fine, what do you mean? That was Jason! We were just making sure things were, er, ready to go for tomorrow.”

“Um, I know what Jason looks like and that is most definitely not him.” Jake said. “Come see for yourself.” 

So Ron and Hermione followed him out, and it was not the disguise of Jason staring back at them, but the one and only Harry Potter. Before they could say anything Amy had noticed something they hadn’t.

“W-who are you? Why do you have a lightning shaped scar? Do you think you’re Harry Potter? I mean, I will admit it’s a very good cosplay, but Harry Potter isn’t real! It’s just a silly children’s book.” Amy was rambling as she made a “pfff” sound with her mouth. “I mean, it’s not like I’ve reread the series or anything…”

“Oh, no,” Hermione said as Charlotte. She knew it was too good to be true with keeping up the disguises for this long. She and Ron had hurriedly reapplied their own when they heard the shouts from the living area.

Boyle and Diaz had joined them now after hearing the commotion. “What’s going on?” Boyle asked.

“Who the hell are you?” Diaz nodded at Harry.

“Wait, how does Amy know who Harry is? They’re not supposed to know we even exist!” Ron looked at Hermione, who returned his with an exasperated look.

“What are you talking about?” Jake was looking back and forth as Ron’s words caught Amy’s attention. 

“Amy, did you just say Harry Potter is a children’s book?” Hermione looked at her seriously for a moment.

“Yeah, of course. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of it! The author’s British, and it’s not just one book. It’s a whole series! Seven books in total. It’s fiction, of course, but it’s one of the greatest children’s series ever written!” Amy noticed the other detectives giving her a look. “And it’s completely okay for adults to still be obsessed with the series, too!”

“Can you tell me what it’s about?” Hermione said. She was shaking now, as Harry and Ron were looking completely and utterly bewildered.

“Me? Talk about Harry Potter?” Amy was becoming overly excited.

“Ames, your geek is showing,” Jake rolled his eyes.

“It’s about an eleven year old boy who finds out he’s a wizard and gets to go to Hogwarts, a special magical school where the kids learn about witchcraft and wizardry! His parents died by an evil wizard named Voldemort, but he survived the killing curse that was meant for him. He spends the next seven years, one book for each year, fighting Voldemort with his two best friends, Ron and Hermione. They end up together, by the way, it’s so great. I love them so much. OH! I’m sorry if I spoiled anything.”  
Hermione looked at Ron and then at Harry. Her face was completely pale. It took her a moment to get her wits about herself. “Okay, Amy, I’m going to need you to sit down. Jake, I promise you can put the gun down, that really is Jason Cooper. Here, I’ll show you.” Hermione pulled her wand out and recast the glamour charms on him.

“Did you just- is that a- did you just perform MAGIC?” Amy was having trouble forming a complete sentence.

Rosa scoffed, “Magic’s not real.”

“Actually, it is. Are you satisfied that this is Jason now?” Hermione asked. She watched as the 99 hesitantly nodded. 

“Wait!” Charles said. “What’s something that only Jason and I talked about. What did I walk in on that first night when we watched Die Hard?”

“Er…” Harry paused. Hermione gave him a look that said, ‘tell him,’ so Harry continued, “You walked in on those two.” Harry cringed. “Okay, now do you trust us?” The four made gestures that were for the most part yesses.

Hermione looked at Ron. “You know what we have to do now, don’t you.”

“Yeah, reckon I do,” Ron said as he pulled out his own wand. “Don’t worry, we’re not going to do anything to you, we’re just going to reveal our true identities. Jake, ‘Mione’s right, you should probably make sure Amy sits for this.”

“ ‘Mione?” Amy said, her jaw dropping, “as in Hermione?” 

Ron and Hermione both took away their glamour charms, revealing their true selves, and Hermione undid the glamour charms on Harry. The trio was now standing in front of the four 99 detectives in their true form: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, who apparently had an entire kid’s book series written about them.

“Ooooooh, mama,” Amy could be heard saying. “That’s- That’s-”

“Okay, Ames, enough fangirling,” Jake tried to calm her down.

“But then, does that mean, is Geresto a wizard?” Boyle asked.

Ron nodded. “Yeah, a pretty dangerous one, too.”

“So he stole from Gringotts then! Like you three did in Deathly Hallows!” Boyle said excitedly. “See Amy? You’re not the only one who’s read them!”

“Yeah, Ames, I’m already on the fourth book because that bet! By the way Boyle, SPOILERS MUCH?” Jake said, acting offended.

“Okay, I’m going to stop you right there. Who is the author of these books?” Hermione asked.

“JK Rowling,” Boyle answered. Amy was struck dumb on the couch.

“Do you have a picture of her?” Hermione asked.

“I’m rereading the series, too. I wanted to make sure I could keep up with any of Jake’s questions. The book’s in my bag,” Amy said and Rosa walked away to go retrieve the book. She shoved Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban at Hermione when she came back out.

“Oh my God, that foul creature!” She shoved the book in Ron and Harry’s faces with the inside cover opened.

“Of course it’s fucking Rita Skeeter! How has she kept this a complete secret from the magical community?”

“That’s probably why Kingsley was so insistent on keeping us undercover. Can someone uncuff me please?” Harry looked around.

“Oh, right! Of course. Sorry about that.” Jake said as he waltzed over to uncuff Harry.

“So wait, you two aren’t actually cheating on your spouses with each other?” Boyle asked. Jake and Amy looked at him in a confused manner. “I walked in on them on Die Hard night a week ago, and they made me promise not to say anything. I thought it was odd that Jason- I mean, Harry, didn’t think it was odd.”

“No, we’re not cheating. We’re married to each other,” Ron said as he put his arm around her.

“This is the best day of my life,” Amy said. “I knew. I knew it from the third book on that you two were going to get together! I was so mad at you two in Half Blood Prince.”

“Am I the only one feeling personally violated right now?” Ron looked around and asked.

“Er, no, mate. Your name also isn’t on the cover of seven bloody books. Hermione, how’d she get away with this!” Harry said. The reality of the situation was hitting him. Not only was he famous for actually defeating Voldemort, but he was famous amongst muggles because his story had been turned into a children’s novel. He’d never get away from the spotlight.

“I don’t know, Harry, but I swear the first thing I’m going to do is find out once we get back to London!” Hermione said.

“But Kingsley knew, Hermione,” Ron said. “It might be better to just let this go.”

Hermione stared at him incredulously. “You’re joking, right?”

“Kingsley’s probably just trying to protect us, Hermione. Besides, we need to focus on Gerteso. That’s why we’re here. And maybe we can be relaxed with our disguises now that they know, but we need to still keep up the guise in public. It’s one thing for Gerteso to think random Aurors are after him, but we’ll put a greater target on our back if we don’t. So to the rest of the world, we’ll still be anonymous.”

Hermione huffed as Harry shook his head in continued annoyance. “I’m going to bed now.”

“Wait,” Jake said. “Is that why you two want to partner up? You need to go into the American Ministry, don’t you! I thought you didn’t like me anymore!”

“Er, yeah, muggles can’t exactly waltz into the Ministry, or MACUSA,” Ron affirmed.

“I still can’t believe you’re real,” Amy said. “It’s like all my dreams are coming true.”

“Ames, those sound like weird dreams if you ask me,” Jake eyed her.

“Well, this is cool and all, but I’m following his lead, and going back to sleep,” Rosa turned around and walked down the hallway.   
“We should go, too,” Hermione looked at Ron while Amy was trying to mask her disappointment. Hermione noticed and said, “I promise I’ll answer any of your questions tomorrow, when we’re not focused on the case,” she smiled. 

“Really?” Amy’s face lit up.

“Of course, but only if I can borrow your books and give them a read through and see how much of the story she got right,” Hermione said.

“Oh, yes, yes of course!” Amy said. 

Everyone began going to their respective bedrooms, but Amy lingered on the couch. She watched Jake grab a water out of the fridge and regretted not knowing what was going to happen between them earlier.

“You alright, Ames?” Jake had stopped by the counter and noticed her sitting there.

“Oh, um, yeah. I guess I was just wondering what you were about to say earlier. You know, before Harry freakin’ Potter walked out of that room.”

“Yeah, that. It was nothing,” Jake said, playing it off. He’d lost all the courage he’d mustered from before. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Jake turned to head down the hallway.

Disappointment flowed over Amy as she replayed those moments. She swore he was going to kiss her. And then suddenly, she was reminded of Hermione making the first move with Ron in Deathly Hallows as she watched Jake walk away. Spurred on by a random burst of courage she stood up and just before Jake reached his room, Amy hissed his name.

He turned around as she said in a low voice, “I don’t think it was nothing. If you won’t tell me or show me, then I will, and I hope I’m not wrong.”

Before Jake could respond, Amy flung her arms around him and her lips met his. They were adults. They weren’t teenagers, and dancing around each other wasn’t an option anymore. Especially if they were both single. She felt his arms wrap around her waist as he met her own in kind. When they broke apart, Amy looked at him. “Please tell me I’m not wrong,” she said breathily.

“You’re not,” Jake said.

“So you…”

“Yeah,” he leaned in and kissed her this time. Amy lost all sense of time and thought, allowing herself to just be in the moment. When they finally broke apart a second time, he said, “I should probably go in there before Boyle discovers this and has a heart attack.”

Amy laughed. “I think we’ve all had enough surprises for one night.”

“Ya don’t say. We’ll talk tomorrow?” 

She nodded as she backed away down the hall, watching him disappear into the bedroom.


	10. Slow State of Affairs

The next few days moved slowly. Despite various stakeouts and more research on the state of Vampire affairs in the United States, England, and Italy, they still had very little on Gerteso. He hadn’t been spotted at all entering MACUSA. It was starting to feel more and more like a wild goose chase than anything because they weren’t making any progress. 

Hermione had taken to spending her free time reading Amy’s Harry Potter books. Amy had been kind enough to go back to her apartment and get the rest so that Hermione could see what Rita had written. Ron and Harry had no interest in reading them, so Hermione would just share how accurate they were, which was incredible. Hermione had become convinced that Rita had other unregistered Animagi working for her, and their sole job was to spy on Harry and gather as much possible information as they could.

“You read faster than me,” Amy had commented when Hermione had finished the first three books in two days. “Would now be a good time to tell you that there are also movies?” she asked hesitantly.

Hermione had just taken Goblet of Fire off of the table. She looked at Amy. “What? Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Um...no. Should I not have said that? I thought you might want to watch them, too.” Hermione’s jaw dropped as Amy went on quickly. “They’re really not as good compared to the books! The screenwriters....they really changed a lot with the char- I mean, with you all. We don’t have to watch them if you don’t want-”

“Oh, we’re watching them. As soon as the guys get back from their stakeout today.”

“What’d I miss?” Rosa asked as she came in the door. She’d been at the station in a briefing with Captain Holt and Kingsley. 

“Just making plans for the evening. Any news?” Hermione directed the conversation back to the case.

“Still nothing. Jake and Charles haven’t seen anything. Not sure what the other two are up to. Shouldn’t you be researching the case and not what some bitch wrote about your lives?” Rosa raised her eyebrow in question at Hermione.

“I’ve researched everything I possibly can. Until we get a trace on Gerteso, I won’t know any more than I already do.” It was true. 

They knew Gerteso’s motive, they’d learned everything they could about how the vampires worked, even down to known hangouts and possible headquarters. But there’d been no movement to suggest anything was happening. So, Hermione had taken solace in the books. 

Hermione continued to ponder Rosa’s words as she set the children’s book down, her mind wandering back to the case. Harry and Ron were staking out different vampire hangouts in an attempt to get more information on the Cryptic, while Jake and Charles manned the entrance to MACUSA. Could there be an angle they hadn’t yet taken in the attempts of making a breakthrough?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Jake and Charles walked through the door with Chinese takeout in hand for the evening. “Anything new?” Amy asked them hopefully.

“Nada,” Charles said as Jake shook his head. 

“Whoever this guy is, he must relish in taking his time.” Jake said in frustration.

“Well, if he’s taking his time, there has to be some reason for it,” Rosa added.

“But what is it? That’s what we can’t figure out,” Hermione thought out loud. 

Continuously stumped over it, she shook her head and checked her watch. Harry and Ron should be back soon. As if on cue, her husband and best friend walked in the door with a simple shake of their heads. Once again, no luck.

Everyone sighed as they began tucking into the food. They were all tired and losing motivation. Something needed to give, and fast. In an effort to make conversation, Amy said, “So, Hermione and I are going to watch the Sorcerer’s Stone tonight. Maybe even Chamber of Secrets if it’s not too late.”

Harry and Ron both looked up. “What’s she mean ‘watch Sorcerer’s Stone?’ Hermione?” Ron was looking back and forth between Amy and his wife.

Hermione let out a deep sigh as Boyle said, “You didn’t know there are movies, too?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Harry said.

“Bloody buggering hell,” Ron muttered.

“If you don’t want to watch it, I’m sure I could download the second Die Hard. There’s more than one TV here…” Jake suggested.

Harry and Ron thought about it. “We should probably watch it. At least we’re not watching ourselves...just watching people act like us.”

Amy looked excited, but also nervous. “I feel like I should warn you, as an avid fan, the books are MUCH better than the movies.”

“What d’you mean by that?” Ron asked.

“Well, the first few movies are a fairly good adaptation of the books, but as they go on, stuff gets left out or changed.”

“Wait, so it’s bad enough the story of my life is in a children’s series, then it was made into movies, and those movies don’t even do the books justice?” Harry said in dismay. “Can this get any worse?”

“Well, not really for you, no,” Boyle said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ron asked.

“You’ll see,” Charles immediately went back to his food. Ron looked at Amy for further clarification.

“The screenwriters changed some of the characters. But we may not even get to the later movies, so I wouldn’t worry about it,” Amy said quickly.

“Great,” Harry said. 

They all finished their meal and cleaned up before settling in the living area for the movie. Harry and Ron gladly took a beer from Jake who was offering them up. Maybe alcohol would make the experience easier. They settled into the movie, and by the time they reached the end, Hermione had to admit that, all things considered, it wasn’t terrible. She didn’t speak at first, though. Instead, she waited for Harry and Ron’s reaction.

“Of all the stink people gave about my eyes growing up, they chose an actor who didn’t even have green eyes?” Harry finally said. Everyone burst into laughter at that, and the tension seemed to be released from the air. 

“I suppose it was fairly close, all things considered,” Hermione acknowledged.

“Ron, were you really that much of a badass on the chess board?” Jake asked.

“I- yeah, I guess. They downplayed the injury, though,” Ron said as his ears turned pink.

“Well, it is a kid’s movie,” Rosa commented. 

“How close was the depiction of Voldemort?” Amy asked eagerly. 

“Er, pretty close. Quirrell really was the perfect host,” Harry told her. “And the turban was the perfect disguise to cover him up.” 

“I always did wonder how well Voldemort breathed in that thing,” Ron said, as everyone chuckled and agreed.

The conversation had continued on about the various characters and how closely the characters did or didn’t match their real life counterpart. But Hermione had stopped listening. She was stuck on something that Harry had said. The word disguise kept playing over and over in her mind.

Suddenly, Hermione looked up at the rest of the group around the room. “That’s it!” 

“What? Hermione, we might need to have a talk if Alan Rickman as Snape gets you off…” Ron joked.

“I- What?” Hermione looked at him. She didn’t let the confusion of his words bother her for very long, though. “Nevermind that. What if Gerteso is using a disguise to get in and out of MACUSA?”

“What makes you say that?” Jake asked.

“Well, you’ve been staking out the entrance every day. After the altercation in the alley, he’s bound to remember you! He’s been so secretive and getting away with things for so long. Of course he’s not moving around in the open, especially now that he knows we’re onto him! He must be disguising himself!”

Realization began to dawn on everyone. “You know, Hermione, you might just be onto something!” Harry said.

“And we’ve been spending all this time in underground vampire bars, when we should be watching MACUSA!” Ron said. “Hermione, you really are a genius!”

Hermione blushed at his words. Even after years of marriage, his praise always meant the world to her. Instead of thanking him though, she said, “Always the tone of surprise,” as she smiled at him. 

It was always their ‘thing’ that they said to each other, though perhaps the whole world also knew, too. She’d have to make a note to check for that when she got to the seventh book. If Rita did have such close tabs on them, even during the hunt, she had to give her credit for not selling them out to Voldemort…

“...Earth to Hermione,” she heard Jake say, “So what do you suggest tomorrow’s plan be, then?”

“Oh..right, sorry. Well, Harry and Ron should probably go investigate in the wand records office tomorrow.”

“But we don’t know what we’re investigating,” Harry said. “It’s not like we know The Cryptic’s actual name.”

Hermione furrowed her brow as she thought about what Harry had said. He was right, but before she could work it out herself, Amy chimed in. “What if you don’t need to know his name? Is there a visitor log you can track?”

“Yes! There’s a general sign in at the lobby, and another more detailed one in the wand records office. They don’t typically let anyone in that office.” Hermione answered.

“So if Gerteso’s been there, we’ll have a way to see what he was looking for,” Boyle said.

“Or what he found!” Jake added.

“And if he hasn’t been yet, he’s still working out a plan to get what he’s looking for successfully,” said Rosa. “If that’s the case, we’ll be more prepared to catch him.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Hermione’s mind was in overdrive, formulating details for tomorrow. “Now, we plan.”


	11. Chapter 10: Curveball

Hermione’s plan had come to fruition quite easily with Amy helping. Harry and Ron had spent the past couple of days in the records office trying to gather information and possible evidence. They’d contacted Kingsley to get clearance without having to sign in and risk blowing both their real and fake covers. 

Meanwhile, Jake and Charles had been placed on stakeout duty outside the Woolworth building. This time, though, they weren’t looking for a specific person, but some other type of consistency. Perhaps someone entering or exiting the building at the same time every day, or whether there were similarities in people’s gaits with their walk. Hermione and Amy had researched possible ways to imitate a person, and, with the trio’s past use of Polyjuice, they had more ideas of what to look for. Rosa was still stationed on surveillance duty, so she was monitoring the surrounding blocks for any sudden appearances. Sometimes she, Charles and Jake would switch around their duties to not get caught up in the monotony.

What Ron and Harry had found the next day was a similarity in times on the main sign in sheet for the Wand Records Office, but it was always a different name. The names were always male, so if it was Gerteso posing as other people, it narrowed the search for who the 99 was looking for. Once in the Wand Records Office, the second sign-in indicated that Gerteso was searching wand records between 1993 and 1998, but the rows varied. It looked as if Gerteso had been tackling about five rows a day, and was a week in. 

He typically only spent about forty five minutes searching each day to not arouse suspicion, and he didn’t go in order when searching the rows. Gerteso clearly planned everything out to minimize suspicions. The first day Harry and Ron were investigating, they split up the rows between them.   
It was a small records office, the rows weren’t very long, and the shelves were only four rows high. The years were labeled at the ends of the rows and indicated the record holder’s school age entrance year. Records were kept in manilla folders that had stickers on the end with letters. The first two appeared to be the first and last initial, and most folders only had two stickers, but some had three or four. So Harry and Ron decided to decipher the labeling system first to see if they could save time.

“How in the world does he get through five rows each day? There must be at least a hundred records to sift through on each shelf!” Harry said as he was looking down the row.  
“Maybe there’s a classification system with the letters that makes it easier for him to look.” Ron suggested. He scanned the row he was currently scanning. “Americans certainly go through a lot of wands, don’t they? This one person has had at least five, and their Ilvermorny start was in ‘93!” He shook his head in disbelief.

“Guess they’re more careless than we are, or more interested in power and status. Who knows.” Harry was silent for a bit before he said, “Hey Ron, I think the third letter is the married name for those witches.”

“I think you’re right, Harry,” Ron said as he handled a folder himself. “Black and white lettering for first and last name, blue and white lettering for married name, yeah?”

“Yeah, now let’s look for-” Harry cut himself off as they heard a door open.

Ron checked his watch and knew it was close to that time. He pointed at his watch, and then the end of the row. Harry grabbed the invisibility cloak from inside his pocket and put it on while Ron made his way to an area in the shelves where the newcomer wouldn’t find him. He double checked that his phone was on silent, and opened it to send a text message to Jake and Charles. He’s here.

Jake responded fairly quickly. Harry texted Charles. He’s going to give us a description to work off of so when he comes back out we can trail him to see where he goes.

Brilliant, Ron sent back before switching his contacts to Hermione. 

Her response was a bit less stealth. Omg. He’s there? Are you going to apprehend him? 

Not yet.

Well, why not? Isn’t that the whole reason you’re there???

Ron rolled his eyes. He was once again reminded why Hermione wasn’t an Auror. Hermione, we don’t know for certain that it’s him. Plus, we need to be sure we know what he’s after to have enough evidence. It’d look pretty bad if we arrested the wrong guy and then spooked Gerteso.

Ugh, fine. 

While we’re waiting, have you found any more on The Cryptic yet?

OH! Yes, actually. Amy is going to send you a couple files now. It may actually help us narrow it down.

As Ron was reading Hermione’s text, he saw the drop down notification from Amy and clicked on it. There were three links to articles. He clicked on the first one. Apparently one of the street names The Cryptic goes by is Francesco Martini. At least that was his good samaritan name. 

He was the youngest philanthropist New York has seen in decades, only 28. It was an article about how he donates thousands of dollars to help orphaned children, both magical and non-magical. He even takes some of the kids into his home, almost like that Daddy Warbucks in that muggle movie Hermione had made him watch once.

Hmm, I wonder if that’s a cover to better assess kids for the squib trafficking. Ron texted Amy.

I was thinking the same thing. Everything we’ve found on Francesco Martini is pretty solid and checks out, though. He’s careful with his aliases. Plus, he’s only ever seen in pictures by this name, so whoever his true identity is, he keeps that locked up tight.

Merlin, how does she text so fast? Ron thought. He moved onto the other articles she sent to pass the time. The first thing he’d do once Gerteso left would be to double check the name Martini, happy to have a solid plan for once.

The last article was still open on his phone when he noticed something about Martini’s picture. Why didn’t it look the same as the other article. Ron quickly toggled back and forth. Bloody hell, he thought as he opened the text thread for Hermione. 

Check those images on the articles of Martini, and tell me if you notice anything. He sent the text and waited a few moments. Sure, the years were two apart, but he was vastly different. Almost as if a beauty charm was used on the more recent article. In the older one he looked like-. His thought was cut off as Hermione’s text came through.

It doesn’t look like the same person, even though he’s labeled as Francesco Martini. That’s odd. I’m having Amy cross reference to see if we get any more image hits.

Notice anything else? Ron sent back.

The older image looks like someone I’ve seen before.

Like Gerteso.

Oh, my... YES, RON THAT’S RIGHT! Ron nodded as he read Hermione’s message. 

There are some differences, though. 

You don’t think they could be brothers, do you? That could fit the whole taking what’s rightfully his.

Maybe even closer than that.

TWINS? But how…

I don’t know. I’ll search both names, Ron sent the last text to her as he heard a door shut. Harry texted. 

He’s leaving, but don’t come out yet. I want to be sure. I’m texting Jake and Charles to make sure he doesn’t see them following him, and not to engage. They’ll meet us back at headquarters.

They waited a good five minutes before they received word from Charles that Gerteso had left the Woolworth building. When Harry told him it was safe, Ron quickly showed him what Hermione and Amy had found and where he wanted to look.

“But that wouldn’t make sense, I trailed him the entire time he was here. He didn’t search the rows he wrote down in the log book, either, Ron. He stayed in the G section of 1998.” 

“I think they’re brothers Harry, and if Martini is an alias, then of course Gerteso would be looking in G. Let’s just check the M1998 section.” Harry nodded reluctantly as they quickly found it.

“There’s no Martini here, Ron,” Harry said impatiently, but Ron didn’t move.

He stood there, thinking hard. “What did Kingsley say about the Sanguinity connection with The Cryptic?”

“Just that the Sanguinity named him head of the New York Division,” Harry said, scratching his head.

“He’s 28, Harry. Very young. There’s got to be something special about him.”

“Or maybe they couldn’t find a suitable leader in New York and sent him here,” Harry said half jokingly.

Ron looked up at him. “That’s it! Harry, you’re brilliant!” He immediately began moving to the end of the aisle. 

“What? I was only-”

“But what if he was sent here? From Italy? Do they have immigrant records?”

“Er, yeah on the other side of the floor.”

“What are we waiting for?” Ron hurried to the immigration record area and searched for Martini. It didn’t take long to find one singular match in 1998. “Bloody hell,” Ron muttered as they grabbed the file.

He opened it as Harry looked over his shoulder, and sure enough, there was a picture of a boy who closely resembled a younger version of the man who Ron had seen in the article. It turned out Martini was indeed an alias.

“So The Cryptic’s real name is Lorenzo Guarnieri?” Harry asked quietly. 

“Looks like it. Let’s take pictures of all this so we can take it back to the team.” Ron handed Harry the folder as he reached for his phone. 

As Ron was taking the pictures, Harry continued studying the document. When it came across familial relations, Harry drew a sharp breath in. “Whoa.”

“What?” asked Ron.

“I think you might be right about the brother hunch, mate.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?” Ron asked curiously.

“Because it says so right here. A twin brother, who was older, but presumed dead. Leonardo Guarnieri.”

Ron looked up at Harry and both men had the same thought at the same time. “Gerteso.”


	12. Chapter 11: Finalizing Plans

“Finally, we’re a step ahead of Gerteso!” Boyle said after Harry and Ron had explained everything. 

“What do you think the plan should be?” Rosa asked. “The sooner we wrap this up, the better. Not that I haven’t enjoyed all this time with you all, but I’m itching to get on with a new case. Plus, Sarge is starting to go nuts relying on Scully and Hitchcock.” Rosa’s seriousness was interrupted by a brief laugh, as she was no doubt imagining Sarge and Gina losing their minds at the duo’s stupidity.

“We should be able to apprehend him tomorrow. I don’t think it’s a good idea to wait too long because he’s going to find out sooner or later that his brother’s records aren’t where he’s looking. He’s bound to check the immigration records in an upcoming visit,” Amy reasoned.

Hermione agreed. “I know you’re going to pull the, ‘you’re not an Auror, Hermione,’ card again, but I think Amy’s right. We can contact Kingsley and MACUSA to get permission to apprehend him. This needs to be done tomorrow.”

“If you’re careful, you may even be able to get him to rat out his brother, too. If he wants to take him down, this would be his last chance when he’s in custody,” Jake said.

“You know what, that’s actually a good idea,” Ron agreed. “Hermione, you, Rosa and Amy see what else you can find on Martini. We’re going to need a location for the MACUSA Aurors to bring him in. I think we can play the angle of getting Martini to come in and verify the suspect, so we don’t tip him off. That way we can give both of them the shock factor of seeing each other.”

“...Especially since it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be a cozy little reunion,” Charles said. 

“Exactly. So how’s this? Harry and I will go meet with Kingsley to see if we can gain permission for a sting in the Wand Records office. Jake and Charles, you should go inform Holt of the plan. There’s only the one stairwell down from the lift. Hermione, we should station you with Rosa there, and then Jake, Charles, and Amy can be covering the main entrance to the Woolworth and the alley he disappears by, just in case.”

Everyone nodded and went their separate ways to gather a plan. It didn’t take long for Kingsley to respond to Harry and Ron. They took their time detailing everything they’d discovered and their idea for a capture.

“Are you sure it’s him?” Kingsley asked them.

“Positive,” Harry said. “Jake and Charles watched him drop the disguise or disillusionment charm in the alley before he disapparated. Jake confirmed.”

“But didn’t Ron obliviate him after their first meeting?” Kingsley asked skeptically. He and Holt didn’t know that their true identities had been revealed to the rest of the team.

Harry recovered quickly. “Yes, but we’ve since spotted him on surveillance, and have still photos to work off of. Charles was able to snap a few pictures on his phone, too.”

“Okay. I will check with MACUSA. Should I request backup?”

“That wouldn’t hurt in case he manages to get up the stairs or to the lift. As long as we get questioning rights first,” Harry agreed.

“I don’t think that will be an issue, especially if we’re aiding in bringing in The Cryptic.”

Ron nodded. “We’re hoping that we can get Gerteso to crack. We’ve got too much evidence to put forth with the Wizengamot to put him Azkaban for a long time. This could be his only chance to strike a plea to lessen the sentence. If he’s trying to take down his brother out of spite, he just might give away what he knows.”

Kingsley nodded. “I’ll meet with them and be back shortly. Do me a favor and check on Hermione’s status with the articles. I have a feeling MACUSA will want any evidence she’s collected with the other detectives,” he said just before he left the frame.

“I’ll go check if you don’t mind waiting?” Ron asked Harry.

Harry shooed him off as he sat on his bed, and Ron returned to the common area. “Any luck?” he asked them.

“Amy’s managed to find a list of all the names of orphans Martini has ‘taken in.’ None of the kids ever make it back to the Orphanage. I’m cross referencing the names to the list I have from the Ilvermorny database. Most of the names are matching those on this list,” Hermione explained. “Even if a child is not fully magical, their name still appears, and there’s an ‘S’ next to their name, presumably for squib.”

“I’m also looking up to see if any adoption records come up for these kids, or if there are any money transfers in an attempt to cover any of it up,” Rosa added.

“Good, good, Kingsley will appreciate the information,” Ron said.

“Oh, my God,” Amy exclaimed as Ron was about to head back to Harry.

Various forms of ‘what’ chorused from everyone, and even Harry popped his head out of the doorway to see what was going on.

“It’s not just Squib trafficking. I checked the names Hermione didn’t find a match for and some of these are high profile missing persons cases.” Amy looked at Rosa. “I need to call Jake.”

“No, wait. Let’s see what Kingsley says. We shouldn’t move too many units in. It might spook him, and that’s the last thing we want.” Amy nodded and Rosa looked like she wanted to argue, but Harry called him back.

“Kingsley just appeared in the portrait.” Ron moved quickly to join them. 

“You have permission from MACUSA to set up the sting tomorrow. They’ll provide extra coverage, but not until after he enters. Once you have him in custody, I’ll join you for the investigation. The MACUSA Aurors are appreciative of any information you can give them on Martini. They’ve hit dead ends with the Squib trafficking ring for a while now. Make sure you bring any information about Martini tomorrow to be ready to hand over.”

“Yeah, about that. Apparently, he hasn’t just been taking squibs from the orphanage. Amy said there are some muggle missing person cases that some of the names and descriptions are matching. This is going to get messy.”

Kingsley was quiet as he thought about this new development. “I will discuss with Holt and see what he thinks. First and foremost, Martini is a wizard, and will need to be convicted as such. Of course, the matters are out of my hands, as this is strictly American territory, though I’m sure MACUSA will be willing to work with and see if they can help locate any of the muggles on that list.”

“Thanks, Kingsley.”

“You’re welcome. The last thing I need you to do is see what you can find for background on the Guarnieris. Any additional information will be helpful for questioning. We need as much of an upper hand as we can get. Hopefully, I will see you in person tomorrow.”

Harry and Ron said their goodbyes and made their way back to the rest of the team to get the information Kinglsey said they needed. The girls were just finishing up their research connected to Martini, and then the group of five grabbed some lunch before diving into a deep search of the Guarnieri name. 

~o~

Unfortunately, their searches didn’t yield the detail they were hoping for. They did find out that Lorenzo and Leonardo Guarnieri grew up in London where they were orphaned at a young age. Apparently as Voldemort’s influence was rising at the beginning of the second wizarding war, there was a Death Eater attack on the orphanage. Bellatrix had intel that there were Muggleborns in the orphanage and Voldemort had ordered an attack on innocent children.

Leonardo and Lorenzo must have been separated during the attack, as the orphanage’s cook was credited with saving one of the boys, Lorenzo, who would one day become The Cryptic. It was clear from the articles that the cook had taken a keen interest in the Guarnieri twins, which caused Hermione to think that she, too, must have been a vampire, since why else would she take him to the Sanguinity. The article talked of the tragedy, and the cook had stated it broke both the boy’s and her heart because she was unable to go back and rescue Leonardo.

Hermione was then able to find more on Lorenzo from published Sanguine journals in Italy. After verifying his descent, the Sanguinity took him in and he studied under them until they shipped him off to join the New York division. He was only 23 at the time, and he moved his way up the ranks quickly. The former leader died suddenly when Lorenzo was 25, and he was chosen by the Sanguinity to take over. Ironically, this was around the same time Leonardo started working at Gringotts.

Ron and Harry were less successful in finding any information on Leonardo, which wasn’t surprising considering how he was able to pass through the system. Since he was presumed dead, Hogwarts never came for him when he turned eleven, and he only knew he was a wizard because the cook had discussed it with him and his brother. They found an article in a muggle newspaper about the mysterious orphanage attack that interviewed a lowly shopkeeper nearby, and it was Jake who noticed the small boy peeking out from behind a crate in the picture.

“There! That’s got to be him, right?” Jake pointed to the screen.

“Yes! That’s definitely him. You can see the resemblance to the boy in the other article,” Ron agreed.

After finding the article, they’d hit a dead end. The team felt a little down because of the lack of information, but Charles, ever the optimist, reminded them that “because you know his real identity, and his motive, and that’ll be enough to seal the deal.”

“Charles is right,” said Amy. “I think we’ve got enough for tomorrow, and the plan is ready to go. Who wants to binge more of the HP movies and try and relax the rest of the day?”

“That sounds good to me!” Hermione said eagerly.

“Do we really have to watch more?” Harry asked, not even bothering to hide his displeasure.

“The first one wasn’t terrible, mate,” Ron said. He could tell Hermione was anxious to see more, and if he was being honest, he was too.

Rosa opted to head back to the precinct to get some paperwork done for a bit while the rest of the team settled in on the couches. Charles had barely sat down when he realized they would need ample food to fuel their movie marathon. So, he ran out to get snacks and pick up sandwiches for everyone later. He insisted they start without him, since he’d seen them before. As the resident foodie of the group, he had taken it upon himself to give them the ultimate snack fest for their binging party.

Amy hit play and settled in a seat next to Jake, where Ron noticed she was sitting quite close to him and had to hide his smirk. He and Hermione shared a knowing look at the two of them, while Harry was watching the opening intently.

“Man, did Dobby really cause all that havoc at your Aunt and Uncle’s?” Jake asked.

Harry nodded. “Yeah. Hey, mate, thanks again for the rescue mission. Things were not looking good,” he turned and said to Ron, who simply smiled and nodded.

“One of the few times Fred and George actually worked with me and not against.”

They settled in for a while until the Ford Anglia made its second appearance and they watched the movie Harry and Ron fly into the Whomping Willow. Ron couldn't help but laugh at the scene. "Well, Hermione, you always wanted to know what happened when we weren't on the train. I'd say this is a pretty good reenactment!" Everyone laughed at Ron’s words.

Things were going well until the scene where Ron was puking up slugs. That wasn’t the issue. It was what movie Hermione had said. Hermione was beside herself when she looked at Amy and asked, “But, why did I get those lines? I had no idea what a Mudblood was!”   
“Well, at least they got the slugs right,” Ron tried to remain optimistic.

Charles returned from his snack purchasing excursion just as the polyjuice potion scene was playing out. He was about to ask Hermione what it was like to be a cat, but Ron gave a firm shake of his head, indicating that it would be smarter to not ask the question.

Ron had to get up and walk out at the scene with all the spiders, mumbling something to the effects of, “I lived through it once, I don’t need to watch it again.”

Harry couldn’t help but take the mickey out of him a bit, saying that, “this Grint character’s facial expressions are brilliant, though! It’s almost like he shares the same fear.” Hermione tried to be sympathetic and not laugh, but she did admit it was funny.

“Oh, but Rupert Grint is terrified of spiders, too!” Amy confirmed.

They watched the remainder of the movie in relative quiet, and once it had finished, everyone turned to Hermione for her overall thoughts, while Amy got up to switch to the third movie.

“Well, aside from giving me several lines that I didn’t actually say, I suppose it wasn’t terrible,” Hermione said.

“It’s interesting how they interpret some of the events that happened,” Harry chimed in. 

“Were they close, at least?” Amy asked. 

“For the most part.” Harry didn’t care to go into much more detail than that.

“Was Lockhart similar to his character?” Amy asked.

Hermione nodded. “The actor did quite a good job with him actually.”

“Oh, please, Lockhart was more insufferable in real life. You liked him, so you shouldn’t be one to judge,” Ron cut in.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “That’s not-!”

“Don’t even try and deny it, Hermione,” Ron laughed. “It’s okay, I forgive your twelve year old self for your poor taste.”

“Oh, no!” Charles cut in, preventing Hermione from any defense she may have had from Ron’s statement.

“What? Did you forget the stuff for nachos?” Jake asked, looking alarmed as he glanced to the kitchen.

“No, I just realized I missed the slug scene!” Charles lamented.

Everyone stared at him, not really knowing what to say. Finally, Ron spoke up. “Er, was there something you wanted to know? Seeing as how I lived through it, I may be able to help..”

Jake groaned. “Wrong answer.”

Amy agreed. “Yeah, Ron, take it back while you still have the chance.”

Before Ron could ask why, Charles began shooting out a litany of questions. “What made you choose slugs to jinx with? What did they taste like? Was it like escargot? How would you rate the mouthfeel? I’ll need to do some research to see if slugs are actually a delicacy somewhere around the world…”

“Charles!” Jake snapped him back to reality. “Leave him alone. No one cares about slugs. Besides, we’re not supposed to know they exist, so you shouldn’t be questioning him about this.”

“It’s fine, Jakey, I’ll just say I did extensive research on it and the movie sparked the inspiration for the new blog article.”

“Charles, no one is going to want to read about the mouth feel of slugs on your blog. Just stick to rating obscure restaurants.” Amy said.

“I have so many questions…” Ron finally managed to say. “What is mouthfeel?”

“Oh, you see I write a food blog!”

“Yeah, I gathered that..” 

“Mouthfeel is one of the twelve categories I rate a dish on. The inside of your cheeks are very sensitive, right? It's like the inside of your thighs except with a tongue-” 

“Charles!” Jake and Amy both groaned.

“Alright, alright! Ron asked, so I answered. The slug thing just gave me an idea for my next blog if you wanted to share your experience.”

Ron didn’t know how to answer. He was twelve when it happened, and thankfully he hadn’t had to relive that particular moment. Thankfully, Amy came to his rescue.

“Okay, enough, I’m starting Prisoner of Azkaban. If you want snacks, go grab them now.”

“I’m going to get a drink,” Harry said. 

Ron and Hermione looked worriedly at him. They knew he was probably apprehensive about seeing Sirius and Remus portrayed on screen. Amy said she’d wait until the end to ask any questions, and advised them all to do the same. Charles was banned from any questions related to food.

When their second movie of the day finished, Hermione looked at Amy. “Is this whole, me getting everyone else’s lines going to get worse?”

“Do you want the honest answer?” Amy asked through a grimace.

Hermione sighed. “As much as I still hate Rita for starting this whole thing by publishing the books, at least they were accurate. I’m starting to lose faith in these films.”

“Do you want to keep going?” Amy asked.

“Might as well.”

“Can we take a break and eat first?” Harry asked. 

“I think that’s a good idea,” agreed Jake.

“Harry, if you don’t want to watch the next one, we’ll understand,” Hermione told him. It was bad enough seeing Sirius and Remus again, and watching Pettigrew get away, but now he’d have to watch the Triwizard Tournament, no doubt watching someone play Cedric die, and see the fake Moody’s deception. It was going to take a dark turn.

“I’ll be fine,” Harry said.

“You could call Ginny if you wanted,” Ron suggested.

“You know as well as I do we’re not supposed to contact anyone while on a mission,” Harry said. But the toll of having been away from her and his family for longer than a week was starting to weigh on him. 

“Can you imagine what she’s going to say when we tell her?” Ron said. The trio all had a laugh at imagining Ginny’s reaction over the whole thing. 

“Hey, I have a question,” Jake said as they sat down to eat. “How did you two not pick up on the whole time turner thing for an entire year?” He motioned to Harry and Ron.

“I did notice!” Ron defended. “That was actually close to how it happened. I’d notice her appear almost out of thin air in classes, but she’d always wave me off or ignore me when I’d ask.”

“I couldn’t tell you. We’ve been over this a million times,” Hermione scoffed.

“Well then, why didn’t you use it to catch up on sleep?” Jake asked.

Amy looked at him as if that was the dumbest question in the world. “Well, obviously she couldn’t. McGonagall told her she should only use it for attending all of her classes. You have to use it sparingly.”

“Yes, Ames, just because McGonagall says something, it’s Hogwarts law,” Jake shot sarcastically back at her.

“She’s not wrong,” Hermione clarified. “I was warned that if I used it too much I could run the risk of affecting the timeline, even if I wasn’t seen. Time turners are a funny thing, er, were. I didn’t want to risk messing with time too much. I was also fourteen and insistent that I could manage it all, too. Ron was the only one to make me see that I couldn’t actually manage it.” The three detectives nodded, though Jake didn’t seem satisfied with the answer. 

“I don’t like how the actors who are playing Remus and Sirius and Snape are so old. They would have been in their thirties. We don’t look that old, do we?”

“No, I think it was more about securing acting prestige when they signed them. It’s not something I thought about, but you’re right,” Amy tried to explain. “Kind of like how they hired kids and had to hope their acting would hold up as they grew with the series.”

“Yes, well, I’m still holding out an opinion, but I’m not sure how well I like Emma Watson.”

“Just wait,” Charles said as he took a swig of his beer.

“What’s that-” Hermione started to say, but Amy cut her off as she jumped up and went over to the entertainment area.

“We should get started if we’re going to finish this at a reasonable hour.”

They cleaned up and settled in for one more movie that evening. Ron could tell that Hermione wanted to speak several times, and there were a few moments when Ron thought she was going to cut off the circulation in his leg at how hard she was squeezing.

The credits barely started rolling when Hermione let loose. “They completely cut out Winky and S.P.E.W.! Which completely changed Barty Crouch Jr.’s whole storyline! And why would they make Durmstrang all boys and Beauxbatons all girls? That’s complete rubbish! Oh, if Fleur were to see her portrayal here...it’s completely awful! They messed everything up.”

“Hermione, I know it was bad, but they kept the integrity of the main points,” Ron tried to calm her down. “Personally, I really enjoyed Movie Harry dribbling water all over himself as he gushed over Cho.” He burst into a fit of laughter that did manage a chuckle out of Hermione.

“Oi! That did not happen, so don’t you dare tell Ginny about it.” Harry warned.

“Won’t have to tell her anything mate, not if she sees it for herself.”

Harry groaned. “Well, I’m personally disappointed that your row didn’t happen in front of loads of people in the common room like it did after the Yule Ball. They really missed the mark on that one,” Harry shot back.

“Well, they certainly got your sour attitudes right,” Hermione told them both, “and the pig-headedness of your own row.”

“Yeah, well, that’s nothing compared to what’s coming in sixth year. Can’t wait to watch how they did that one,” Harry said. Ron and Hermione knew he didn’t really mean much by it, but they both still turned faintly red at the memory.

“Harry,” Amy tried as gently as she could to change the subject. “Is that actually what Voldemort looked like?”

Harry was silent for a moment. “Er, sort of. His face was much more snake-like, and his voice was more chilling than that. But the graveyard scene was accurate, minus Bertha Jorkins absence.”

Ron and Hermione were quiet. It was the one time they weren’t with Harry as they had to remain in the stands while he completed the final task.

“I still can’t believe Fudge just administered the Dementor’s Kiss on Crouch without bothering to hear his story,” Charles said, shaking his head.

“Yeah, well Fudge was bloody buggering-”

“Okay, Ron,” Hermione cut him off. Harry nodded in agreement at what Ron was about to say. “Maybe it’s time we turn in. We need our rest for tomorrow.”

Everyone agreed. “As much as I’m ready to catch this asshole, I’m not ready for this to end,” Jake admitted.

“Well, we’ve still got questioning and all that, so it’s not like we’re just going to disappear tomorrow or anything,” Ron reassured him.

“You aren’t going to obliviate us when this is all over, are you?” Rosa asked. She’d just walked in the door. “Oh good, movie night’s over.”

Jake, Charles and Amy all looked at the trio, waiting for the answer to the question only Rosa had been brave enough to ask. They knew with the Statute of Secrecy that they’d have to. The sympathetic looks emanating off of Harry, Ron and Hermione said it all.


	13. Chapter 12: Takedown

Takedown  
“Fifteen minutes til his visiting window,” Ron said as he walked over to Harry and Hermione. “You have the cuffs?”

Harry nodded. “I’ll be under the cloak, waiting in the G’s section.”

“And I’ll be over on the other side of the archives, near the immigration records,” Ron clarified. “I just finished speaking with the Auror team sent to aid us if necessary. They’ll take their positions at the other stairwell once we notify them that he’s entered the area with the DA coins. Hermione, it was brilliant of you to think to use them, again. Jake, Amy and Charles are keeping watch outside.

“Rosa,” Ron paused as Rosa took off Harry’s invisibility cloak and handed it back to Harry, “You and Hermione will take the back staircase. Remember, if you have to shoot, nothing lethal. Let Hermione attempt a stunning spell first, but remember he’s quick. Any questions?” Everyone shook their heads.

“We should get into position,” Harry said. 

Ron walked with Rosa and Hermione and stopped at the door to the stairwell. “You’re sure you’re okay with this?” He asked Hermione as Rosa gave them a private moment.

“Yes. I know it’s been years, but I’ll be fine. It’s not like I’ve forgotten.”

“I know, I wasn’t saying that. Just making sure you’re okay.”

“I will be. I’m more worried about you.”

“Why?”

“Just make sure you’re well hidden in the stacks, alright? You don’t know if today will be the day he decides to check a different area. Don’t assume he’ll just head to Harry,” Hermione warned him.

She made a good point. “I’ll be careful, I promise.” He kissed her briefly, and she squeezed his hand before slipping through the door. 

Ron walked over to the immigration archives and hid in the next aisle over from where they made their breakthrough yesterday. He positioned himself in the center of the aisle, just in case he needed to move one way or the other. And now we wait.

It didn’t take long for Gerteso’s arrival. He was a creature of habit. Ron heard the far door open and close, the scratch of the quill on parchment was faint, but there, and then the heavy footsteps of work boots that indicated he was on the move. He waited for them to stop in the G section as they had the day before, but they kept clunking, and they were getting louder.

Fuck. Ron moved swiftly to the far end of the aisle, and took cover on the edge of the shelves. He wasn’t sure how Hermione knew he’d change his search today, but she did. He quickly took out his coin and sent the message that was already pending for MACUSA, and waited. He hoped to Godric that Harry followed him, so he’d have ample back up. The last fight wasn’t easy, but hopefully this time he had the element of surprise. 

Sure enough, he heard Gerteso stop walking a few aisles over, most likely search the G’s again. Ron felt the coin heat up indicating MACUSA was in place. A few moments later, he felt it heat up again. It only had two letters “IG”. He knew that was Harry, telling him where Gerteso was. ‘Immigration - G’s.’

Ron checked each aisle stealthily as he made his way closer to where Gerteso was. He didn’t need to send Harry a reply asking if he was ready. They’d worked together long enough to know Harry was there and had his back. Ron positioned himself and could see Gerteso in the middle of the row, pulling boxes. He waited for him to put the box back before he made his move.

As soon Gerteso’s hand left the box, Ron waved his wand, casting a silent stunning spell. A flash of red hit him square in the chest, and another spell was cast immediately after. Ron covered his body in case Gerteso got a spell out, as he was bloody quick the last time, but he saw Gerteso’s wand flying toward Harry, who must have cast Expelliarmus. Ron cast Incarcerous next and watched as ropes flew out of the end of his wand and wrapped tightly around Gerteso. 

Harry had taken off the invisibility cloak in the meantime, and stuffed it in his cloak. He was now headed toward Gerteso to cuff him. They weren’t taking any chances. As British Aurors, they weren’t as well versed in the magic of vampires, so they didn’t want to risk his potential for wandless magic. Ron met Harry at the bound man, and held him up while Harry attached the cuffs. He said the spell and they lit up purple, indicating they were working.

Ron cast the counterspells to any disillusionment and glamour charms. It partially did the trick, but it didn’t fully reveal Gerteso’s true identity. Harry and Ron looked at each other, communicating silently. It had to be Polyjuice potion. That would make sense with his time limit, and why he only spent forty five minutes on any given day. They searched Gerteso for any signs of a flask, but had no luck. 

The sick git simply smiled eerily at them. “Can’t apprehend me if you can’t prove who I am.”

“Nice try,” Harry said as he tapped the cuffs that turned a bright shade of blue. “New technology,” he said to Ron, who nodded in understanding. Kingsley was really pulling out all the stops for them.

“State your name,” Harry said gruffly.

They watched as Gerteso opened his mouth in an attempt to use whatever alias he’d chosen that day, and then his eyes grew wide.

“Go on, tell us,” Ron said. 

“Leonardo-” he looked pained, “Guarnieri.” It was clear he hadn’t spoken his real name in years by the way it seemed so foreign against his lips. 

“Do you also go by the alias Howard Gerteso?” Ron asked.

“Y-yes,” the man had no choice but to tell the truth.

“Well, then, Howard Gerteso, you’re under arrest,” Ron said.

Harry went to retrieve Hermione and Rosa, tossing the cloak to the latter. Rosa took out her phone to let Jake, Amy and Charles know to standby. Hermione left with Rosa to go meet the rest of the group and to notify Kingsley that Gerteso was in custody. Harry began guiding Gerteso towards the stairwell, where the MACUSA Aurors were waiting, while Ron doubled back to pull Martini’s wand record for questioning.

~o~ 

A short time later, Kingsley joined Harry and Ron, who were waiting outside the questioning room. The polyjuice potion had finally worn off, and Gerteso was in his true form. Harry and Ron still kept up the disguises they’d started with for anonymity purposes. They were joined by the MACUSA Auror Director, a Mr. Stanley. 

“I’ll leave you to it, then. Let me know if you need anything,” he said to Kingsley. 

He left them and headed back to his office. “I’ll be right out here watching and listening. I trust you two.” Kingsley gestured towards the room.

“Thank you, sir,” Harry and Ron said.

Harry and Ron walked in and were met with a scowl on Gerteso’s face. “Well, , he doesn’t look too pleased to see us, does he Jason,” Ron said to Harry.

“Not at all, Nolan. So he must know he’s going to have to do the time for all the money laundering he did in Gringotts,” Harry responded.

Gerteso grunted, but didn’t deny his responsibility.

“So, Howard, or should we call you Leo? What brings you to New York?” Ron asked him.

“Vacation,” he said snarkily.

“Yeah? A vacation that required you to use polyjuice potion to sneak into the wand records office of MACUSA for the past week or so?” Harry countered.

“Last I checked it was open for anyone to check,” he spat back.

“So why the secrecy?” Ron continued. 

“I don’t have to tell you two anything.”

“You don’t have to, but it might make it easier for you. Of course, it’d take the fun away from us, since we knew you were after this,” Ron pulled Martini’s file out of his cloak and set it on the table. “What’s your brother got that you’re after, Leo?”

“Everything,” he growled.

Well, if this wasn’t the classic case of jealousy and revenge, Ron didn’t know what was.

“How long have you gone by Gerteso, then?” Harry asked.

“Long enough.”

“We’re going to need a more specific answer than that. Only since your time at Gringotts? Or maybe, since this photo?” Ron pulled out the photo they’d printed from the newspaper clipping all those years ago.

“How’d you find that? That’s from a muggle newspaper.” Gerteso leaned forward to get a better look.

“We’re the ones asking the questions,” Harry said firmly. “How do you know that shopkeeper.”

“Fine.” It looked like Gerteso was finally going to give up some information. “He took me in after the attack. I was in the kitchens before the death eaters invaded the orphanage. I was able to sneak out the back door and hide behind a dumpster. That’s how I saw Benedict escape with my brother. I was about to call out to them, but then the explosion happened and it knocked me out. When I woke up they were gone. That shopkeeper found me and took me in. Thought it best to change my name, and then he raised me muggle.”

“No one from Hogwarts came for you?” Harry asked even though he knew the answer.

“Why would they? Everyone assumed we were good as dead, even though they never recovered our bodies. Course, all the records were destroyed, so they didn’t actually know how many of us perished, did they?”

“So how’d you get a wand? And learn magic?” Ron asked.

“Why’s it matter?” Gerteso had a knack for answering questions with questions.

“Why? Well, the fact that you’re practicing magic and worked at Gringotts is the ‘matter.’ So please, enlighten us,” Ron pressed.

“Stole one. Then taught myself.”

“Did you steal the books, too?” Harry asked. Gerteso simply shrugged. Just another crime to add to the list.

“Alright, so you’re clearly going to Azkaban for a long time. Money laundering, from the goblins no less, stealing, impersonating others, evading the law... so how about you tell us what you want with your brother.” Ron was getting ready for the cincher.

“I want what’s mine.”

“Which is…?” Harry was starting to get impatient.

“His title.”

Ron nodded. “Thanks, Leo.” He nodded to Harry, and they left the room to discuss with Kingsley.

“Good work, you two,” Kingsley said. “What are you thinking for your next steps?”

“I’d like to leave him in the dark until tomorrow. We should bring him to the 99 so they can question him for his identity theft. It’ll only make our case stronger,” Harry said and Ron nodded as he took over. 

“Hermione is working with Rosa and Amy to contact Martini and ask him to stop by the precinct for a publicity stunt. They’ll give him a tour, and we’ll bring him in the room and Disarm him when he sees his brother.” 

“We’ll make sure we have time to get Gerteso to comply with helping the MACUSA team take his brother down. He’s got a lot of jealousy and vengeance flowing through him, so it shouldn’t be too hard,” Harry finished.

“Very good. I will have Gerteso transferred to holding, and will personally see to it that he’s transferred to the 99 tomorrow morning. We should be able to wrap this up tomorrow if all goes well.”

“Thanks,” Harry and Ron said.

“You two may go. Make sure your plan is well thought out with the team. Once Gerteso is settled in his cell, I’ll visit Holt and give him the rundown. We will plan for nine tomorrow morning. Now, get back to your team,” Kingsley said.

Harry and Ron said their goodbyes and made their way to join the rest of the team.

~o~

The team spent the last couple of hours planning out every detail, question and potential move Martini could make tomorrow. Holt was able to contact Martini, who confirmed he would visit the precinct. Now that they’d secured his visit, the team was also certain that Gerteso would be willing to help them take down his brother. It’d be a brief, but shocking reunion for sure. Satisfied things were in good shape for tomorrow, the team retired early again for more movies.

“I think we can get through two more movies tonight!” said Amy. “And then the other two tomorrow, if you’re allowed to stay one extra night.”

“I’m sure Kingsley won’t have a problem with it,” Hermione said kindly. She knew they all wanted to get home, but she needed to see this through, and hoped that the boys were invested, too.

“Honestly, if we can wrap this up in the morning, we could finish the reports, watch the movies and then we could take a late portkey. We have to come back to pack up anyways. Plus, Kingsley should at least have the decency to give us a few days off after this case,” Ron suggested. “So we can rest when we’re home.”

“That’s true,” Harry said. 

“I can go help speed the process along by starting the paperwork tonight,” Rosa suggested. Well, it wasn’t really a suggestion, more of a statement, as she’d already grabbed her jacket and was headed out the door. “I’ll meet you guys at the precinct in the morning.”

Ron looked worriedly at the rest of the detectives. “Don’t mind Rosa, she likes her private life. She already brought her stuff back to her place before you got back from questioning. You don’t have to worry about her loyalty. Actually, you should be thankful, she never offers to do extra paperwork,” Jake explained. “She’s also clearly not an HP fanatic like Amy and Charles are.”

“And you,” Amy said with a smirk.

“Okay, fine, I’ve joined the dark side,” Jake finally relented.

“Well, it’s good to know not everyone is obsessed with my story,” Harry said sarcastically.

“Shall we, then?” Amy asked.

The group settled in to watch Order of the Phoenix. As the scenes progressed, Ron muttered to Harry, “At least our hair’s a more accurate length for this go around.” 

Hermione couldn’t help but laugh at the comment. “That was pretty awful. And why is mine much more tame? What are they trying to accomplish?” Harry and Ron shrugged as Amy remained awfully quiet.

It was a longer movie, but it was more accurate in their minds than the fourth. “Umbridge really was awful,” Hermione commented. “And that actress gave a chilling performance. It felt like I was there all over again.” 

Harry glanced at his hand, which still had his own handwriting on the back of his hand. “Well, they got the disaster of my relationship with Cho on point, but where were your Department of Mysteries injuries?” Harry asked Ron and Hermione. He looked at Amy. “Are they in the books at least? It was bad. They were in the hospital for over a week. Hermione didn’t even wake up for several days.”

“It’s in the books, yes,” Amy confirmed, “but I think the movies wanted to focus more on your loss than the other’s injuries.” She was referring to Sirius.

Ron could tell Harry was tense so he changed the conversation. “Well, I for one, am insulted that they completely disregarded Firenze, and they left out the swamp. What a shame.”

Hermione nodded. “Should we start the sixth?”

Amy got up to change the discs as Harry gave Ron and Hermione a look. “Well, this should be fun.”

Hermione and Ron both grimaced. Hermione looked at Ron. “Can I just take a moment to apologize ahead of time again for the canaries? If they’re even there…”

“Oh, they’re there!” Charles chimed in.

“I’m sorry, too, for...well, you know,” Ron said. 

They’d been together long enough that the whole year had been discussed at length, except for one tiny detail that Hermione seemed to have forgotten about.

The movie started rolling with the Underground scene. “Er, what is this? This never happened.” Harry looked incredibly confused. “They really didn’t use the Dursleys in this at all?” He looked surprised as Amy and Charles shook their heads.

The trio was on edge for several of the scenes they knew were coming, but it wasn’t until the Quidditch trials scene started that Hermione let out a shriek. “Oh, no. Shit! No!” She looked at Harry as Ron asked her what was wrong. It was completely out of character for her to swear.

“N-nothing. Could we- Amy can we skip this scene?” she asked nervously.

Amy seemed to realize what Hermione was alluding to, but Ron spoke up first. “No, keep playing it.” He watched as Movie Hermione cast a confundus charm on McLaggen and looked at her.

“Tell me you didn’t.”

“I- it wasn’t because I thought you couldn’t do it!”

“Hermione-”

“I was so mad at him and his smugness. He needed that cocky smile rubbed off his face. He would have been awful - he was awful! When he played in that second match. He was such a foul pain in the arse.”

Hermione’s face threatened tears as Ron looked to Harry. “Did you know?”

“I only guessed, and I told her it was wrong. I wouldn’t have let him make the team anyways, but apparently she didn’t trust my judgement either,” Harry rolled his eyes.

“And you didn’t tell me because…?” 

“Because by the time I confirmed it you were in a right foul mood because of Ginny, and then you spent months snogging Lavender. By that point, the season was almost over, and McLaggen’s true colors came out anyways.”

Jake, Charles, and Amy were watching even more intently than they had the movie, which Amy had since paused. Everyone waited to see how Ron would react, and they were all surprised when he simply smirked and put his arm around his wife.

“You know, looking back on it, it’s kind of sweet that you wanted to help me and make McLaggen suffer.”

Hermione gaped at him. “You’re not mad?” Even Harry looked surprised.

“If it was fifteen years ago? Yeah, I probably would have been, but I’d like to think I’ve matured enough to not let something that happened when we were sixteen bother me now. Can we keep going?”

Hermione relaxed a bit and sunk into his side as they continued. Everyone was trying to keep their comments to a minimum as they had the previous evening so they wouldn’t miss anything, but when the scene with the Burrow catching fire appeared, the trio all lost their minds. 

Even Amy and Charles agreed that it was a very odd addition that wasn’t necessary in the slightest. Jake thought the effect was cool, but sort of out of place. After the outburst, they were able to make it to the end, and the trio looked shell shocked. Up until that point, things weren’t terrible, but what the writers and directors had done to Ginny and Ron’s characters was completely inexcusable.

“Ginny may well kill someone if she ever sees that,” Harry commented. “And what was up with Ron being so far in the back of that last scene? That’s not how it went at all.”

“I’m actually pretty disgusted,” Hermione agreed. 

“As much as you kissing Ginny after that match shocked me, mate, I think they did a disservice by totally changing that here. Whatever that was supposed to be in the Room of Requirement was just awkward..” Ron said.

“I was really upset when I saw they’d messed that up,” Charles agreed, ever the romantic.

“Amy,” Hermione said, not paying attention to the rest of the conversation. 

“Yeah?”

“Please tell me that the screenwriters were not trying to attempt to create a nonexistent relationship seem plausible.”

Amy gave Hermione a worried and apologetic look. “I wish I could..”

“Oh my god,” Hermione’s face was red and she looked livid.

“What?” Harry and Ron were looking at her.

“They were trying to imply that Harry and I would have been a better couple! I’m so angry I could scream.”

“Hermione, you wanted to watch these,” Jake tried to tell her.

“And I don’t regret it, but there’s no wonder there’s all this speculation still surrounding the three of us.”

“ ‘Mione, stop, it doesn’t matter. We’re happy, Harry’s happy with Ginny. We’ll tell the rest of them to bugger off, it’s fine,” Ron tried to reassure her.

“It’s not fine! They completely destroyed your character, and elevated mine to make me seem too desirable! How are you not more upset by this?”

“Because it’s fiction based on presumed fiction. Muggles don’t know we’re real, so this is all just a story to them. It’s no use getting your knickers in a twist over. Our real fans know what’s true and what the movies fucked up, yeah? We can’t let it affect us.”

Hermione let out a loud sigh. “I really hate when you’re the voice of reason.”

Ron grinned at her as Jake and Harry suggested they should all probably get some sleep. “We’ll finish this saga tomorrow, and then Amy and Charles, you owe me some Die Hard marathons!” Jake said excitedly. 

“To one more day and an almost closed case,” Charles said as they all stood to go to their separate rooms.

“Cheers!” chorused the rest of the group. It was hard to believe this crazy case was going to come to an end tomorrow.


	14. Chapter 13: A Chilling End

Hermione heard the elevator ding as she checked her watch. 10:30 precisely. The doors opened and she entered the floor of the 99th precinct, looking around for familiar faces. Well, that’s odd, I thought everyone would be at their desks, Hermione thought to herself.

She’d received confirmation that Jake and Charles had finished interrogating Gerteso around ten, and then they should have made the switch with Kingsley, Harry and Ron a half hour ago. Even Amy was supposed to be back by now, but the only person on the team sitting at their desk was Rosa.

The plan was for Jake and Charles to swap with the three wizards and return to their desks to continue the paperwork Rosa had started last night. To keep up pretenses, the 99 couldn’t hang around when Harry and Ron revealed Gerteso to Martini, since they ‘didn’t know’ magic was real. They decided not to risk it because who knew what conversation would transpire, since the hope was for Gerteso to rat his brother out and give away details of his role as The Cryptic. Amy was supposed to be accompanying Holt, who was leading Martini and two of his associates around the precinct. Even Amy was supposed to excuse herself for another case to return to her desk, since Holt was supposed to be the only member who knew the true identities of the British team. 

Since Hermione was not an Auror, she agreed to stay behind and get a head start on packing their things, only making her appearance when things were wrapping up so they could all debrief. Something’s off, she thought as she quickly made her way over to Rosa’s desk. 

Rosa looked up when Hermione sat down on the spare seat next to her desk. “Good, you’re here,” she said in a low voice.

“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” Hermione asked for confirmation. 

Rosa nodded. “They normally pat everyone down when they get here, so something must have been concealing their sticks.” Rosa knew better than to use the word ‘wand’ just in case there were listening ears. Hermione supposed sticks could be loosely termed to indicate a weapon, so the cover was decent. “They’re definitely armed, and I saw the two idiots Martini brought with him give each other a weird look.”

Hermione took in Rosa’s words as her brain was whirring faster than ever. “This was supposed to be an ordinary visit. Of course they’d still come armed, but how could they know. Things have been tight lipped. Unless…” Hermione looked up at Rosa.

“They’d been tipped off. Smells like a dirty cop on your end,” Rosa confirmed Hermione’s thinking.

“We need to go help them!” Hermione said quickly.

“On it.” Rosa was already standing and placing her gun in her holster. 

Terry looked up from his desk. “Everything alright?” he asked, giving them an odd look.

“All good, Sarge. Just keep everyone here.” Rosa gave him a look and he knew she meant business as he gave a curt nod in response. 

Luckily, it was fairly quiet. Gina was too self involved with her phone and Hitchcock and Scully were in the breakroom eating their mid-morning meal. Rosa and Hermione hurried down the hall, and were about to turn down the hallway to the breakroom when Rosa froze and held out her hand. 

Ron, Harry and Kingsley were ahead of them and just now entered the survey room. Rosa didn’t want to give them away yet, in case they were the only backup. Hermione cast a silent concealment charm over the hallway, so no one else would have a clue what was going on, and a muggle repelling charm on the other side of themselves. They inched closer to see what was going on.

“Ah, you’ve finally arrived. I’m not sure what took you so long,” they heard a deep baritone voice purr, no doubt it was Martini. 

Hermione immediately placed an anti-apparition charm around the entire floor. They needed to find a way to see inside. She was trying to think desperately of a plan to find out just what they were up against.

“Now, I know my brother’s in there, but none of these No-maj pigs seems to have the key. So, I’m going to need you to go in there and get them, or they die.”

Oh, Merlin, this is not good. Not good. Hermione felt Rosa nudge her with her elbow and nodded toward the end of the hallway. There was one of those corner mirrors hanging up. Hermione nodded at Rosa’s idea.

She could hear Kingsley trying to talk to and reason with Martini. Asking why one of his men couldn’t open it instead. As much as Hermione desperately wanted to hear what Martini was going to say, she knew she needed to put a sound barrier up briefly so they wouldn’t hear the commotion of her summoning the mirror off the wall. 

As she cast the charm, the mirror broke from its mount in the corner and came flying at them, she controlled it’s speed and stopped it just before it could be seen by any of the room’s inhabitants. Hermione hovered the mirror closer and closer until she got a clear view of what was going on inside the room, and then stuck it to the wall.

She made her observations and then said to Rosa, “There are four men in there. Do you know where the other two came from?” Rosa shook her head. “Each one has the 99 team at wand point, including Holt. Kingsley, Harry, and Ron all have their hands up, and I don’t see their wands anywhere.” Rosa nodded and Hermione lifted the sound barrier charm. They were both studying the mirror now. 

“...clearly you have someone working for you in MACUSA,” they heard Kingsley say.

“You’re a bright one, aren’t you,” Martini scoffed.

Hermione looked at Rosa. “They haven’t surrendered their wands, yet,” she whispered, realizing this after she’d checked the floor and the hands of Martini’s team. Quickly, she dug into her pocket and pulled out the coin. “Harry and Ron both have theirs, I made sure of it.”

“What are you going to send?” Rosa asked.

“I’ll send ‘we’re here,’ but they won’t read it. They should feel it heat up and know. We’ll give it about thirty seconds after it’s sent. Do you have a clear shot of his men?” Hermione was speaking quickly and in a hushed voice. They were running out of time.

“Yeah, I’ll take the left.”

Hermione nodded as she sent the message. She shoved the coin back in her pocket and drew her wand. They waited another twenty seconds before Hermione whispered, “Now!”

What happened next was a blur. Rosa managed to shoot two of the men holding her team hostage in the legs, Hermione stunned the other two, and now Harry and Ron both had Martini at wand point. The tables had turned in an instant. 

Hermione cast Disarming charms and had collected all five of the wizard’s wands. Kingsley was pulling more cuffs out of his robes. Just as they were about to cuff everyone, they heard a haunting chuckle come from Martini. 

“Ah, did you really think I’d give in this easily? Granted, I wasn’t expecting those two harlots to come barging in and ruining everything, but still..”

Hermione stopped listening to his soliloquy. She knew he couldn’t apparate, try as he might, so she did a quick homenum revelio. There were fourteen in the room, which checked out. She turned her wand to the hall, where she revealed one person. She stepped back enough to see the mirror out of the corner of her eye, and saw someone approaching. The person had chosen that moment to turn and make sure no one was following and Hermione acted without thinking. With speed she didn’t even know she still possessed, she took one step in the hall and shot a stunning spell, hitting the man square in the back. Hermione then disarmed the man.

“Well done, Charlotte,” Kingsley said. Harry and Ron both looked surprised and impressed at Hermione’s quick thinking as Kingsley handed her another set of cuffs.

“Thank you, sir,” Hermione said as she looked at Rosa. “Cover me?”

Rosa nodded as they went into the hall. Hermione triple checked to make sure absolutely no one else was going to try and save Martini, and once she was satisfied they were clear, she approached the man and cuffed him. She set the counter spell for the stun as Rosa dragged him off the ground and into the already cramped survey room.

“Stanley?” Kingsley asked. He was clearly surprised. 

The man simply scowled at them as Kingsley rounded on Martini. His former Auror training was now coming out in full force. “Is anyone else in MACUSA feeding you information or protecting you?” Martini’s cuffs had already turned that same bright blue as Gerteso’s had the day before. They couldn’t take any chances.

The look on Martini’s face mirrored the same reaction Gerteso had given. He wanted to say no, but instead found himself listing off four more names within MACUSA. Kingsley scribbled them down on some paper he found at the desk. He stuffed the paper in his robes and then conjured a patronus to send a message. 

As the lynx sprinted away, Kingsley turned to Harry and Ron. “We’re going to take these five to MACUSA first. I’ve just sent word to the President, and I know that he will deal with them appropriately. He is as trustworthy as they come.” He turned to Hermione next. “You know what you need to do before we come back.” She nodded slightly.

Holt stepped forward. The detectives had done a decent job in playing the shocked muggle role until that point. “I will wait with Martini in the hall for your return.” Per the arrangement, he was the only one who did not need a memory charm. 

Hermione lifted the anti-apparition charm and watched as Holt walked Martini out, and the three wizards grabbed the other assailants by the arms and disapparated. Rosa shut the door, and Hermione quickly silenced it, before sending a flash of orange light towards the security camera, disabling it for five minutes.

“Um, is no one going to do anything about the dudes Rosa shot?” Jake asked.

“Someone will take care of them in MACUSA, I’m sure,” Hermione said.

“Do you really have to?” Amy said, changing the subject from Jake’s question. She knew they didn’t have much time.

“What’s she gonna do? Oh! Don’t tell me you’ve got one of those flashy things like in MIB where they wipe people’s memories. That’d be sweet!” Jake said excitedly.

“No, Jake she’s going to use her wand because she’s a witch and she’s going to obliviate us.” Amy’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes. 

“Uh, obliviate means she’s going to wipe our memories, Jakey,” Charles clarified.

“Thanks, buddy,” Jake responded. “Neuralyzer! That’s it! I still think that’d be cooler.”

“Will you two shut up?” Rosa said harshly.

Hermione took a quick breath. “Okay, after I do this, you need to call us Charlotte, Jason and Nolan again, alright?”

“Are you not going to-” Amy started to say, but Hermione cut her off.  
“Not completely. Everything that just happened here, yes. You’re going to think it went off exactly as planned, and everything involving the case you’ll remember as completely normal, muggle events with no magic involved. But, you’ll still be able to recall who our true identities are, even if you can’t call us by our names. That’s if everything is administered properly.”

“Cool, c-c-cool, c-cool, cool, cool,” Jake said nervously. “So..should we be worried you could completely mess with our memories?”

“It’ll be fine, you know she’s brilliant,” Amy reassured him and squeezed his hand, which did not go unnoticed by Charles and Rosa.

“What was that?” Charles shrieked.

But Hermione didn’t give them a chance to answer, as she waved her wand and took away all the magical memories surrounding the case. She watched their faces with sorrow, and hated that they had to follow the Statue of Secrecy so closely. She lifted the silencing charm, opened the door and fixed the mirror as the memory charm finished it’s work. As the fog cleared, the detectives all looked around.

“Are they gone?” Jake asked.

“All but Martini and Gerteso. We’ll bring them back soon,” Hermione said. She heard three faint pops in the hallway. “We’re going to bring Martini in so he and Gerteso can have a word.”

Kingsley strode in with Holt behind him. “Alright team,” Holt said. “You’ll need to get back and file your reports on the Gerteso case so we can hand them over to King’s team. They’re going to question the two once more before they take their leave. You’re dismissed.” The four detectives nodded and exited quietly.

“Charlotte, you may go assist with paperwork,” Kingsley nodded. “Holt and I are going to debrief while Jason and Nolan take care of Gerteso and Martini. I’ll be back to assist Gerteso’s transfer to England when I’m through.”

~o~

Ron watched Hermione, Holt and Kingsley go as Harry grabbed Martini by the arm. He knew Kingsley wanted Hermione to obliviate the team, and he was disappointed they didn’t get a chance to at least say goodbye as his actual self.

“Alright, time for your family reunion,” Harry said as he nodded to Ron.

“Right,” Ron opened the door to the interrogation room. He shook the thoughts from his head as he placed his focus back on the case. “Sorry for the hold up, Leo, but we have a visitor for you.”

Gerteso looked up, slightly confused, until the door widened and his brother walked through. “What the- How’d you find him?” he said.

“So you are alive…” Martini cut in.

“And it looks like the two of you are both going to rot in prison for a long time,” Harry said.

“Why didn’t you come back for me?” Gerteso asked. Though his voice was cold and there was a stiffness to it, Ron could hear the hint of desperation that he truly wanted to know.

Martini hesitated. “I wanted to, but Benedict said it was too dangerous. He was after our kind and if we didn’t get out of the country then, they’d find us.”

“And yet I lived across the street with that corner shop owner until I was of age, and I was fine. Benedict always preferred you over me.” It was the first shot of emotion Gerteso had displayed, but it disappeared just as quick. “You took everything from me. It should’ve been me.”

“No, England should have been yours,” Martini said stiffly.

“I went to the Sanguinity! I appealed to them for Englandand they shot me down!” Gerteso said through gritted teeth.

“So what, you came here to take my spot?” Martini let out a shrill laugh.

“Alright, alright, any last words?” Ron broke up their verbal spat.

“Yeah, thanks for ruining everything,” Martini said to his brother.

“I had nothing left to lose,” Gerteso said quietly.

Harry looked at Ron and nodded before disapparating with Martini to hand him off into trusted hands with MACUSA. Ron stepped outside to wait for Kingsley to return.

It was sad, really, to see how broken Gerteso had become. And now, both brothers’ lives were effectively ruined, from their own wrongdoing, of course. Ron’s thoughts were broken as Kingsley strolled down the hall.

“All set?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.” 

“I’m going to take Gerteso back to MACUSA with me, where we have a 1:00 portkey waiting. Hermione mentioned you three and the detectives had some business to take care of before you came back? Something about a movie?” Kingsley looked at him intently.

“Oh, er, yeah. Jake has gotten us all into the Die Hard movies. We have two left that we were hoping to watch before we caught a portkey back. Plus, we have to pack, too. Will MACUSA be alright if we stay a few extra hours in the suite?”

“Yes, I think that will be fine. I’ll speak to the transportation department and arrange a 10:00pm Eastern portkey back to London for you. I’m sure you want to get home to your families tonight, even if it will be early in the morning.”

Ron chuckled. “Yeah, it’ll give us a few hours’ sleep before we need to pick up the kids from Mum and Dad. Harry won’t be as lucky. I’m sure Ginny will have him up bright and early.”

Kingsley laughed. “I would expect nothing less. You three have done a brilliant job on this case. I think the paperwork can wait a few days. I’ll speak to your department heads and make sure you’re not expected back at the Ministry until Monday.”

“Thank you, sir,” Ron said. He was appreciative to have extra time to reunite with his family. It’d been a long two weeks, and the kids had never had both their parents away from them for that length of time.

“Of course. You’ve earned it. Now, I believe you have plans. Go join your team.” Kingsley shook Ron’s hand before entering the interrogation room to collect Gerteso.

Ron felt his pocket heat up from the coin. It was Harry, letting them know he was heading back to the suite to start packing and he’d meet them there. Hermione had responded that the paperwork was wrapping up, and they’d be there within the half hour. 

She really had been thinking when she made him and Harry take those coins. No one was expecting there to be a leak within MACUSA’s Aurors, let alone from the head of their department. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to talk to her about any of this until they returned home. 

He walked back onto the office floor as the team stood up. Jake handed him the reports so he could use them back home to build Gerteso’s case. “There ya go, Nolan,” Jake said.

“Are we ready to get back and watch those movies?” Amy asked. Everyone, including Rosa, nodded, indicating she was going to join them.

They were about to make their way to the elevator when Terry joined them. “Hey guys, even though I didn’t really get to work with you, I heard you all did a great job, and I just wanted to thank you for keeping my team safe.”

“Oh, er, thanks,” Ron said.

Terry nodded at him and whispered to Ron and Hermione, “Chant back alright?” Both were confused until they heard Terry shout, “NINE NINE!”

The rest of the team, including Ron and Hermione shouted, “NINE NINE!” back.

“It’s just something we do here,” Terry said through a big smile as he turned to get back to his desk. They heard him saying to himself. “It’s yogurt time! Terry loves his yogurt!” The detectives rolled their eyes and laughed.

~o~

Once they were back behind closed doors of the suite, Amy asked, “So, should we pack first? Or did you want to start the movies?” The four of them looked at the trio.

Hermione spoke for them. “Well, our stuff is all packed and ready to go. If Harry’s mostly packed up, we can jump right into the movies. Then maybe that would give us enough time to actually go out to dinner and go to Shaw’s for a drink before we have to leave. We depart at ten, so we should be there by nine.”

Harry and Ron were gaping at Hermione. She’d slipped up. But when they looked at the detectives, no one looked surprised. “Don’t worry, we still know who you are, just not the details of the case,” Charles explained.

The two men rounded on Hermione, who didn’t look apologetic in the slightest. “They deserve to know our true identities, and I trust them. If you don’t, then you can obliviate them before we leave.” 

Ron and Harry glanced at each other and then Ron noticed Jake, Amy and Charles giving them desperate looks. Rosa didn’t seem to care either way.

“Are we doing this, or what?” Hermione asked.

The afternoon had passed by, and they watched the last two films in near silence. The only outburst was when Hermione yelled at the television during the dancing scene in the tent. “What the fuck were they thinking?!” It took a lot to get Hermione this riled up. Ron should have been annoyed as well, but he was so amused by her use of the foulest of language that he laughed at the absurdity of it all.

It was a solemn mood as the trio had to watch so many they were close to die again. Tears were shed at the end of part one when they lost Dobby, and again when they saw Fred, Tonks, and Lupin lying still.

Amy paused the movie before the epilogue, not wanting to show them that before they discussed the rest of the films. “Well?” she asked quietly.

“A lot of things were different, but it doesn’t change the grief from the loss of it all,” Ron said. Harry and Hermione nodded.

“I didn’t realize it until these two films, but I found the voices with Polyjuicing odd. When you use the potion, even your voice changes, but it didn’t here,” Hermione commented.

“Probably to help the audience know who was who,” Charles said.

“I honestly tried to forget the whole ‘seven Potters’ thing,” Harry grumbled.

“Mate, we didn’t exactly care to be you, either,” Ron managed a laugh.

“Was it weird turning into a guy?” Rosa asked Hermione.

“Um,” Hermione’s cheeks flushed red. “I tried not to think about it.” Ron was watching her carefully. He’d honestly forgotten that Hermione had experienced what it was like to be Harry. To- nope, we’re not going there, he told himself.

“Speaking of, I can’t believe they didn’t Polyjuice me during the wedding,” Harry said.

“Yeah, a lot of that whole scene was off,” Ron agreed.

No one wanted to discuss the locket, or Ron’s departure, which he was thankful for. He had a feeling Hermione was appreciative to see the scene of his movie self destroying the locket to get some sort of visual of what he went through. It wasn’t exact, but it was close.

“The whole snatcher chase through the woods was bollocks,” Harry said.

“Yes, and why didn’t they let Ron yell for me?” He knew she was talking about Malfoy Manor. That was hard to watch. “That was what kept me alive. How could they leave that out?” she asked incredulously.

Amy just shrugged. “I’ve given up asking those questions. But if I ever get a chance to meet Steve Kloves, I fully plan on giving him a piece of my mind.” Jake patted her knee to settle her. 

“What about your injuries? How could they just pick back up in the second part and you were fine? We were at Shell Cottage for over a month! And you spent more than half that time healing! You were barely ready for Gringotts!” It was the first time they were really seeing Ron get heated over the movies.

“They were already dark enough as it is, no one needed that addition, I’m sure,” Hermione told him. 

“Oh, and they butchered your first kiss as bad as they did mine and Gin’s,” Harry said.

“Yes, well, how could they keep the integrity of it when they cut out all of S.P.E.W.,” Hermione said bitterly. “And, we did not get soaked by a tidal wave in the Chamber of Secrets. Honestly, was that the best they could imagine for that scene? She also looked pained to kiss him. I was certainly not pained to kiss you, was I? Considering I made the first move?”

“Hermione, you’re getting yourself riled up again,” Ron chuckled. He was trying to hide his own disappointment at how all that panned out.

“I wish Snape’s death actually happened in the Shrieking Shack,” Amy said. “I never understood the boathouse scene.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed. “That seemed off, but Snape’s memories and the forest with the resurrection stone was quite well done. Even King’s Cross with Dumbledore, though I’m disturbed about how Rita found out about that,” Harry shuddered.

“The final scene between you and Voldemort was shit,” Ron said to Harry as Hermione nodded.

“So anticlimactic,” she said.

“Yeah, there’s some holes in how everything ties together because of it,” Harry said, noticing the flaws.

“But that wouldn’t make a good climax,” Charles said.

“Charles, just say action or fight scene...honestly,” Jake shook his head.

“Well, there is one more part,” Amy said. “Want me to play it? Then we can go to Shaw’s for dinner and drinks before you have to go.”

“Um, sure,” Hermione said as Harry and Ron gave a noncommittal shrug.

Amy pressed play and the epilogue unfolded. Harry, Ron and Hermione stared open-mouthed at the screen.

“But...nineteen years later isn’t for another two years,” Hermione said, a look of complete loss on her face. “When did you say the seventh book and movies came out?”

“The book was 2007, and the movies were 2010 and 2011.”

“Hugo and Lily weren’t even born yet. How could she have possibly known their names?” Hermione was completely flabbergasted.

“Hermione, how did she find out everything she wrote in those books?” Harry said exasperatedly.

“So, the kids,” Amy said timidly. “They’re real?”

Jake couldn’t help but laugh. “What, like they’re fake? Ames, do you hear yourself?”

“Yes,” Hermione said, “and the names are correct, too.” A thought crossed Hermione’s mind. “What if she’s a Seer?”

“I thought you didn’t believe in that rubbish,” Ron said.

“I’m skeptical, yes, but that scene hasn’t happened yet. Either she totally made it up for drama or she saw it,” Hermione persisted.

“Well, we won’t know until it plays out in two years, now will we?” Harry said. “And seeing how it’s Al and me, I guess I’ll be the one to confirm.”

“Are we ready to head out yet?” Rosa asked. 

Everyone nodded and left the conversation there. Hermione grabbed the beaded bag, which had all of the trio’s belongings, like old times.

“Thank you for showing us all of that. It was very...enlightening,” Hermione said to Amy.

“Of course! Thanks for, um, keeping this part of our memory intact,” Amy said as Hermione offered a small smile.

“To the best team of Brooklyn detectives and British Aurors!” Charles said as he raised his fist in the air.

In the absence of Terry, Jake took over his signature line. “NINE-NINE!”

“NINE-NINE!” They all echoed.

They took one last look around the suite before closing the door behind them. The mission had certainly been once of a lifetime, and the trio had made friends they wouldn’t soon forget. And, the 99 detectives wouldn’t either, thanks to Hermione’s ability to skirt around the law.


	15. Epilogue: The Heist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't do a B99 crossover story without a heist!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I based this off of the season 3 heist, and some of the plot points and a few lines are taken directly from the show. I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or Brooklyn 99. Thanks for following this crazy story!

“Captain Holt,” Kingsley said after apparating directly into his office. 

“Ah, King, you made it,” Holt said, looking at his watch. “Right on time, too.”

“Yes, well, it wasn’t easy transporting a large portrait under a disillusionment charm from England to the United States,” Kingsley commented. “Care to fill me in now that we’re in person? Your correspondence gave away very little.”

“I can, but I don’t have much time before the squad arrives for their shift,” Holt said. “You may place the portrait on that easel over there. It is an honor to make your acquaintance,” he nodded to the portrait.

“And yours as well. While I don’t wish to speak poorly of my permanent residence, it is nice to leave the wall of the Headmistress’ office.” The voice of Albus Dumbledore could be heard through the Disillusionment charm Kingsley had placed on the frame.

“What about your other portraits, Albus?” Kingsley asked in confusion of his statement.  
“Ah, yes, I do travel to those occasionally as well, but this may be my only opportunity to ever travel outside England. Though, I believe Captain Holt is pressed for time and would like to have a word before you must take your leave,” Dumbledore observed.

“Thank you, Albus,” Holt said before turning to Kingsley. “For the last two years, Detective Peralta and I have engaged in a ridiculous Halloween bet, now known as the Halloween Heist. Normally, I don’t engage in such frivolous antics. However, we are currently tied 1-1, and I intend on winning the tiebreaker and putting an end to this, once and for all.”

“I see, but what does this have to do with Albus’ portrait?” Kingsley asked.  
“Ah, yes. Ever since your team left following the closing of Gerteso’s case, I planted the seed in Peralta’s mind for him to contact Nolan about returning to help him win.”

“So you think Nolan is going to be here today?” Kingsley said. “Now that I think about it, he and Jason did take the day off…” 

A wicked grin spread across Holt’s face. “Just as I predicted. Now, I’ve positioned the easel for Albus’ portrait so that he can observe everything that’s happening in the precinct, unbeknownst to anyone.”

“I will do my best, but I must say my lip reading skills are not up to snuff,” Albus admitted with a chuckle. 

“There will be no need for lip reading,” Holt said as he made his way back over to his desk and pointed to a contraption that looked like a radio. “I planted a bug on Peralta’s desk, so you should be able to hear the conversations without any issue.”

Albus nodded as Kingsley interjected. “Well, good luck to you. I’ll be taking my leave now, and will be back in the morning to retrieve the portrait.”

Holt nodded, as Kingsley disapparated. 

~o~

“It’s the best day of the year!” Peralta said excitedly as the squad gathered in the briefing room for their meeting. “The day we can finally determine once and for all who is the amazingest ‘amazing detective/genius!’”

“Yes, which we both know will be me,” Holt retorted. “This year, we will both be attempting to steal the same item. This—” he held up a briefcase and opened it to reveal a gold crown, “will be locked away in the interrogation room. The case itself cuffed to the table. We decided to use a neutral object this year instead of Peralta trying to steal something of mine.”

“Yeah, and whoever is in possession of the crown at midnight will be crowned the amazing detective/genius. Which will be me,” he added with a fake cough.

Holt shook his head in mock annoyance. “We will see about that. Now, as for teams: we each can choose who we want to work with, and as I was the victor last year, I’ll choose first.”

“I guess that’s only fair,” Jake said, rolling his eyes, and pretending to be affronted.

“I choose Terry,” Holt said swiftly.

“Alright, alright, brawns over brains. I get it,” Jake commented.

“What?” Terry asked, but Jake ignored him as he made his own pick.

“Charles,” he said. 

He didn’t notice that Amy almost stood up with a smug look on her face, only for it to fall slightly as he chose his best friend over his girlfriend. Amy looked to Holt in anticipation next. Maybe he’d choose her instead.

“Yes! The dream team rides again!” Charles said, pumping his fist in the air.

“Gina,” Holt said automatically, as Gina stood up and joined the captain.

“Rosa!” Jake said.

“Dope,” Rosa said as Amy exclaimed,

“What?!”

“Sorry, Ames, I can’t trust you. You’ll do anything to please Captain Holt,” Jake explained his reasoning.

“Well, fine, maybe I wanted to be on Captain Holt’s team anyway,” Amy said, trying to hide the look of hurt on her face.

Holt held up his hand. “Sorry Santiago, I can’t trust you either, given your current relations with Detective Peralta.

“Wait, so nobody wants me?” Amy asked. Both Jake and Holt looked at each other awkwardly and shook their heads.

“You can be with us!” Hitchcock said happily. Everyone forgot he and Scully were still sitting in the back.

“Um, I’m good,” Amy said.

“Uh, yeah no,” Jake added. “Let the heist begin!” he said as he ran out of the room quickly to meet with his team. 

“Charles, you guard the case from the viewing room. I guarantee that Holt will send Gina in there. Rosa, you know what you have to do,” Jake said as Rosa nodded and Charles took off.

Jake pulled out his phone and sent a quick text. Heist has begun. You know the drill. He pressed send and looked up to find Amy standing in front of him.

“Oh! Hey Ames, what’s up?” he asked.

She looked at him suspiciously. “Who were you just texting?” 

“Me? Texting? Oh, just Charles. You know, making sure he made it to his post alright.” Jake shoved his phone in his pocket.

Amy squinted her eyes at him in question, but didn’t argue. “Listen, Jake, you really hurt my feelings back there.”

“I didn’t mean to, Ames. You know how important this is to me.”

“So you know I want to help, then! Let me help, Jake, we’ll be unstoppable! Just give me a chance.”

“Sorry Ames, but I can’t,” Jake said. His eyes shifted down. “Nice try, Captain, but I’m not going to fall for your games this time. Your little spy is not getting any information out of me.”

“Jake, why are you talking to my breasts?” Amy asked with a disgusted look on her face.

“Because you’re obviously wearing a wire,” he said in the most ridiculous way. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got paperwork to do,” Jake said as he turned around and sat down at his desk. 

Meanwhile, Amy walked over to Captain Holt’s office and knocked on the door. 

“Come in, Santiago,” Holt called. Sergeant Jeffords and I were just finishing up here.” He nodded to Terry who gave him an unsure look, but walked out of the room, having been dismissed.

Amy hovered in the doorway. She wanted Jake to hear how Holt would gladly use her help for the heist to stick it to him. “Captain Holt, I really want to make Jake pay for not choosing to have me on his team. I’m yours, do with me what you please,” she pleaded to Holt.

“—Title of your sex tape!” she heard Jake call from his desk.

“I’m sorry, Santiago, but I have no use for you this year. You’re too much of a risk, and I can’t have a late addition ruin everything. I will reign supreme,” Holt said.

“But Captain—” Amy tried to interject.

“You’re dismissed, Santiago,” Holt said with finality. He shut his door and walked over to his desk as Amy sulked to hers.

“She’s telling the truth, you know,” Albus said from his perch from the corner.

“Maybe that’s the case, but I’ve already planned every step precisely and nothing will go wrong,” Holt said.

“Be that as it may, Captain Holt. I know I am only a portrait of my former self, but I assure you I can sense when shenanigans are afoot.”

“What does Peralta have planned? Did you see anything while I was speaking with Jeffords?”

“No, no. I only sensed there may be an additional person in the precinct,” Albus said as his eyes looked above him.

“HA! I knew he’d enlist Cooper and Brown. He’s falling right into my trap.”

~o~

“Charles, you can keep trying to distract me, but you’ll never win. How’s it feel to be on the losing team,” Gina taunted him.

“Come on, Gina, I promise you won’t be disappointed this time!” Charles argued.

“No, Charles! I will not be set up on another blind date with a Boyle cousin. I respect myself too much,” Gina argued. “This body is a shrine and I have standards to uphold.”

Charles looked up and saw Rosa’s face appear in the window for a split second. That was his cue. “It’s not a Boyle cousin! It’s a recommendation from Genevieve. Here, Gina, look! I have a picture of him. Just let me find it,” he said as he dug into his pockets. He pulled the picture out and let it slip out of his hands, falling to the floor.

“Could you be any clumsier, Charles? GOD!” Gina exclaimed. 

She looked down and saw that the picture was of a very attractive looking man. She bent over to pick the photograph up, and Charles used that moment to give the thumbs up. A split second later, decoy detonators were running rampant around the floor. This caused Gina to scream and jump up on the table as the figures were scurrying around making loud noises.

“Charles, do something! What are those things! They’re going to kill us! Charles!” Gina yelled dramatically.

While this diversion was taking place, Rosa was working swiftly to unlock the door to the interrogation room. When it didn’t work, she broke the glass on the window, and then somersaulted through, meeting Ron, who had apparated into the room. Rosa moved over to the briefcase and began cutting into the leather as Ron reached into his pocket and grabbed Peruvian Darkness Powder. He tossed it toward the window and it immediately exploded, covering the area in complete darkness. He used his wand to control the spread of the powder so it isolated itself in front of the window.

“We’ve got two minutes before this starts to weaken,” Ron told her. 

“Got it,” Rosa said, the crown in her hands. She flipped over the briefcase and zipped her jacket, stuffing the crown inside. “We’re good,” she said gruffly. “Wait for phase two in the evidence room.” 

Ron nodded as Rosa slipped out of the door. He waved his wand to repair the shattered glass, and flipped the briefcase over, repairing the hole Rosa cut as well. He noticed the powder starting to fade and apparated back to the evidence room.

~o~

Holt remained in his office, pretending to be nonplussed by the ongoing heist, and attempted to focus on his paperwork. Terry knocked on his door and came in.

“Hey, Captain, do you have any idea when I should tell Sharon to come in. The twins are almost done trick or treating, and I’m not sure she can hold them off much—” Holt cut Terry off with a raise of his hand.

“Shhh,” he said as he turned his radio up slightly to better hear Jake’s voice.

“Great! Now, all I have to do is sit here and guard this filing cabinet until midnight. Hello, victory!”

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Rosa said indifferently as she walked away.

“Now, Terry, call her now. It is time,” Holt said.

“Uh, okay,” Terry said as he left Holt’s office. 

Holt watched Terry go, and waited for his wife and kids to enter through the elevator to take his leave from the office.

“Hey, girls!” Holt heard Jake said happily as he slipped out onto the terrace. 

He picked up his drill from the hiding spot and waited for Jake to be appropriately distracted. Stealthily, he moved towards the filing cabinet and unscrewed the back. Holt slipped the crown out, replaced the back and stood up to photobomb one of the shots before escaping into the breakroom. 

Pretending to be interested in the snack table, he noticed Amy nod to the breakroom and Jake looked over and saw him alone. He quickly disposed of the crown in the garbage can, and grabbed a handful of cheese puffs. I knew I couldn’t trust Santiago, he thought to himself.

“Since when do you eat cheese puffs?” Jake asked as he strolled in.

“If you must know, Peralta, they are one of my—” Holt paused briefly, “guilty pleasures.”

“Maybe I’m rubbing off on you after all,” Jake said with a laugh. “Quick, let’s see how many we can fit in our mouths at one time!” he said.

“I’ll...pass,” Holt said.

“Wait a minute, if they’re your guilty pleasure, why aren’t you eating any?” Jake crossed his arms over his chest. 

“I was going to enjoy them in my office,” Holt said quickly. 

“A-huh, well after you, then,” Jake said, gesturing to the door.

Holt had no choice but to follow him out and return to his office as Jake returned to his desk, petting the filing cabinet as he sat down. Jake pretended to get back to work, but pulled out his phone and typed out a message. Pretty sure Holt took crown. In breakroom. Initiate phase two.

After he returned his phone to his pocket, he noticed Charles walking over to his desk. “Charles! What are you doing? You’re supposed to be guarding the crown!”

“I’m sorry, Jake! You know I’d never betray you,” Charles said quickly.

“Why do I sense there’s a but?” Jake asked suspiciously.

“Because there is one! Come on, Jake, I thought you were smarter than that,” Gina chimed in with a guffawed voice.

“Gina? Where’d you come from? Nevermind. Charles, why aren’t you watching the briefcase?” Jake asked again.

“Well, Jakey, Gina agreed to go on a date with Nadia! But I had to leave the briefcase unattended…”

“Charles!” Jake said as his hands reached up to pull his hair.

“Jake, you can stop the act. I know the crown was obviously taken from the briefcase.” Gina told him.

“What?” Jake tried to play it off like he had no idea what Gina was talking about, but his facial expression was traitorous. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t been to the interrogation room at all!”

“Drop the act, Jake. I’m Gina Linetti and I know everything. Did you really think that distraction worked? I knew exactly what you were doing. Don’t insult my intelligence.”

“What’s all this?” Captain Holt asked as he walked out of his office. “Last time I checked this is a precinct, not daytime television drama!”

“Sir, Gina is wrongfully accusing me of taking the crown!” Jake defended.

“I don’t see how that’s a problem, Peralta. Where’s the lie?” Holt asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Jake’s mouth gaped like a fish out of water before he dropped the act. “Okay, fine, we have it, but you’ll never find it!” he admitted with an air of superiority. His hand immediately went to lean on the filing cabinet, pretending it was still there. 

Captain Holt let out an abrupt laugh. “In the top drawer of your filing cabinet? Please, Peralta, you’re playing like an amateur.”

“Would I really put the most beloved object of this life changing event in such a normal place?” Jake retorted.

“Why don’t you open the top drawer and let us all see.”

“Well, fine, if you must check…” Jake opened the top drawer, revealing an empty spot. Feigning shock, he looked up at Holt, then at everyone who was standing around. “Rosa! It’s gone. Where did it go? Tell me you borrowed it!”

Rosa had joined the circle now. “Why would I take it? That wasn’t part of the plan.”

“But then where did it go?” Jake looked at Holt. “There’s no way you could have stolen it. I’ve been at my desk the entire time.”

“Ah, yes, you’ve been here, but you allow yourself to be distracted far too easily, Peralta,” Holt said as he pulled out his phone. 

After a few clicks of the touchscreen he held out the phone for Jake to see. Sharon had sent him the picture she’d taken of Jake and the kids, with Holt photobombing with the crown in the background.

“Dammit! I should have known you’d use Terry’s girls to distract me. Not cool, Captain, not cool.” Jake shook his head, before looking up. “But wait, you were in the breakroom right after that!” He looked at Charles and Rosa before continuing, “Holt stashed the crown in the breakroom!”

The group made their way over quickly, each team trying to beat the other in an attempt to regain possession of the crown. Jake stopped abruptly at the head of the pack, causing everyone to run into him and each other. “Wait!” he turned to Holt. “That means you lied to me about the cheese puffs! That hurts, Da—I mean, Captain. I thought we were bonding over junk food.”

“Peralta, do you really think I would consume that cancerous trash?” Holt asked loftily.

“Well, that sounds a bit harsh,” Jake said, but then shook his head. “Where is it?” 

Holt walked over to the garbage can. “I had to stash it somewhere quickly so you wouldn’t see. So naturally, I placed it here,” he said, gesturing to the trash. “And now, I can retrieve it and keep it in my possession for the last hour. Looks like I have outsmarted you once more, Peral—” Holt cut off because as he lifted the lid off of the garbage can, he realized the crown was missing.

“What’s wrong?” Charles asked.

“It’s not there. It’s not there! Peralta, what’d you do with the crown? I know you took it!” 

“How could I have taken it? I was at my desk the entire time after we both left. It’s not like I can use magic or anything,” Jake said with a laugh. He didn’t realize what had slipped out of his mouth until he saw the look on Charles’ face. “I mean, obviously, magic doesn’t exist, duh…”

“Peralta, you’re not fooling anyone! I know you’ve got Cooper and Brown lurking around the precinct somewhere, helping with your plan. Did you really think you could hide that from me?”

“What?! I don’t know what you’re talking a—” 

“Peralta! Get them out here. Now.” 

Jake let out a sigh. “Fine. How’d you know?” 

He pulled out his phone and sent a quick message. Jig is up. Holt knows. Come back to the breakroom.

“How did I know? I practically gave you the idea to call them back! ‘You must miss your British friends. It’s a shame you can’t collaborate with them on anything else,’” Holt mimicked the words Jake remembered hearing more than once since the Gerteso case closed.

“Aw, man! You and your reverse psychology. Come on, Captain! Why do you always have to play the weird mind games?”

“Maybe you should put your detective skills to better use, and pick up on it, then,” Holt clapped back. “Ah, Brown! Cooper! So nice of you to join our heist. Though I’m sorry to say you’ve found yourself on the losing team.” 

Harry and Ron both walked through the door and began exchanging greetings with everyone. “Wait, losing team? You just said yourself you didn’t know where the crown went!” Jake interrupted.

“And you seemed just as shocked as I was,” Holt commented.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Charles interjected. “Where is the crown? Who’s telling the truth?”

“Sergeant Jeffords?” Holt said, looking at Terry.

“Uh, sorry Captain, I got tied up with Sharon and the girls.” Terry shrugged.

“WHAT?!” Captain Holt shouted. 

“Ha ha!” Jake pumped his fist in the air. “Looks like you’re going to lose after all, Captain! Nolan and Jason here did what Terry couldn’t. Better choose wiselier next time!”

“Er, Jake, we don’t have it either,” Ron admitted. 

Jake’s premature celebrations were cut short. “What?”

“I snuck in to get it, but it was already gone,” Harry explained.

Jake’s furrowed brow quickly turned up and a smile plastered on his face. “Ah, I see what you’re doing. Very clever! Make them think we don’t have it. Don’t worry, Cooper, it’s hidden well enough so Holt we’ll never find it!” 

“No, really, Jake. We don’t have it,” Ron’s face was completely serious.

“But then—” Jake looked at Holt. “Who took it?”

“Check the security tapes!” Rosa said.

“Yes, quickly, we don’t have a lot of time!” Holt said.

The group moved around to the computers that had the security footage on it while Holt slipped into his office quickly. He pretended to shuffle papers on his desk, his back to the door as he asked, “Did you see anyone enter the breakroom?”

Albus spoke slowly. “I did see someone enter, but the scuffle of your squad blocked most of my view.”

Holt shook his head. “I should have anticipated the layout of the precinct.”

“I am sorry I couldn’t be of more assistance. I did see Harry and Ronald try and retrieve the crown, and their look of concern when it wasn’t there, however.”

“Harry and—oh, you mean Jason and Nolan. My apologies, I do try to forget their true identities. I must pretend I do not know of their existence, or I risk getting Kingsley into a deal of trouble.”

“Captain Holt, they found some—” Harry walked into the room followed closely by Ron. “Who are you talking to?”

“No one. Didn’t your superiors teach you to knock when entering a room?” Holt said quickly. 

“The door was open,” Ron said quickly. “What’s in the corner over there, Jason?”

“Nothing that pertains to you,” Holt said.

“It’s a disillusionment charm. Is someone there? Kingsley? Jake said you might enlist his help,” Ron said suspiciously.

“Now, now, boys, I can assure you I am not Minister Shacklebolt, but he did answer Captain Holt’s request for assistance,” came Dumbledore’s voice from the invisible spot in the corner.

“Professor Dumbledore?!” both boys gasped.

“Only in portrait form. You’ll never believe the lengths Kingsley had to go to in order to get Minerva to oblige. It’s been a nice vacation.”

Ron broke out into laughter. “Well played, Captain Holt. It’s a shame Jake can’t know.”

“Yes, well, I’m sure your reunion can continue later, but did you not say evidence has been uncovered?”

“Oh, yeah, let’s go,” Ron said as Harry and Holt followed.

“What janitor was on tonight?” Rosa asked.

“Should we check the dumpsters?” Charles suggested.

“What is this?” Captain Holt cut in.

“A janitor emptied the trash shortly after you put the crown there! Look, there’s a name tag.” Jake pointed to the screen.

“It says ‘Al’,” Harry pointed out.

“Does anyone know an Al?” Captain Holt asked to a sea of shaking heads.

“Someone has to know..” Charles thought out loud.

“The late night cleaner shift would have ended fifteen minutes ago,” Terry reminded them. “So Al’s not even here.”

“How are we supposed to find him, then?” Gina asked.

“Where’s the directory?” Holt said, looking at Gina.

“That? I threw it out.” Gina said unapologetically.

“Gina—” Terry was about to scold her for not holding onto important documents.

“Wait a minute,” Rosa cut in, “Who sends Christmas cards to everyone in the office?”

“Amy!” Jake said, immediately moving over to her desk. “A ha!” His finger skimmed the list of names and addresses. He secretly loved her organizational skills and knack for keeping things orderly. “Here it is!”

“How much time do we have?” Holt asked.

“Thirty minutes,” Charles said, checking his watch.

“His apartment’s only seven blocks away, we can make it!” Jake said. 

He froze briefly as he and Captain Holt both stared at each other. In a split second, they were both running for the elevator, followed by the other members of their teams. The group of eight ran the entire distance to the janitor’s apartment and quickly entered the building.

“The elevator’s broken!” Charles exclaimed as Jake was gasping for air, incredibly out of breath.

“How many...floors?” he asked between breaths.

“Seventeen,” Rosa said with an eye roll.

Holt and Jake shared another brief look before the race continued up seventeen flights of stairs. The rest of the teams followed closely behind. By the time they reached the seventeenth floor, Jake checked his watch.

“Ha! Ten minutes to spare. My lungs are on fire.” Jake said as he knocked on Al’s apartment door. 

A woman answered, looking rather annoyed.

“Hello, Ma’am,” Captain Holt said, cutting Jake’s greeting off. “Does Al live here? May we speak to him?”

“It’s really important. Will only take a second,” Jake added as the rest of the group was appearing now.

“He’s not here,” the woman said. “He went up to the roof.”

“What?” Jake asked, now leaning against the door jamb. 

“Sorry. If you want to talk to him, you’ll have to go up there.” The woman shut the door in their faces.

“That’s another fourteen flights of stairs,” Holt said.

“I’m pretty sure I’m gonna die,” Jake said dramatically.

“Good, you stay here and recover and I’ll go speak to Al,” Holt said as he started back towards the stairs.

“Not a chance!” Jake said, rallying his energy.

Eight minutes later, Jake and Holt burst through the door to the rooftop. “I...did it….was here….first!” Jake managed to say before he retched to the side. 

He was able to make it a few more paces as Holt called for Al. Jake threw up a second time as they looked around. 

“There’s no Al here,” came a voice. Someone in the same janitor’s outfit appeared from behind a corner.

“Ah, no! Ames, what are you doing?” Jake asked, clearly surprised.

“I’m here to tell you that neither of you won the heist this year.”

“Wait, what?” Rosa called as the rest of the group appeared through the doorway and came up behind Holt and Jake.

“This is preposterous! You don’t have the crown. Al does. Where is he?”

“It was me all along,” Amy said triumphantly.

“What do you mean?” Jake asked.

“Did you really think I wasn’t expecting the two of you to cast me off to the side this year? I used that to my advantage to take you both down.”

“What do you—” Jake started to say.

“For the past three months I made sure to drop hints of how much Captain Holt’s approval means to me whenever you’d bring up the heist,” she said to Jake, but quickly acknowledged Holt. “Which I do, by the way!”

Jake rolled his eyes. “That’s no different than normal. So what?”

“And I’d also manage to slip in a few words to Captain Holt about how well our relationship is going, so he’d think I’m more loyal to you,” Amy said as she nodded to Jake.

“But...you are, aren’t you?” Jake asked.

“Really? You’re asking me that when you wouldn’t even divulge any details of your plans?”

“And you wonder why I said I couldn’t trust you,” Jake mumbled.

“Can someone please explain what’s going on?” Terry cut in.

“I’m getting there, Sarge,” Amy said as she looked over to the rest of the group. “Oh, hey Nolan. Hey, Jason. I knew you’d call them in,” she said to Jake.

“No you didn’t,” Jake protested.

“Really? Then care to explain why else you’d wake up early in the morning and I’d hear you giggling at text message conversations? Did you really think I had no idea you’d included them in the whole thing? Honestly, it’s a little insulting. And how did you two get away from your wives for the day?” Amy asked.

Harry and Ron both looked guilty. “Er, we told them we were on a mission,” Ron said.  
“...And you really think we believed that?” Hermione walked out from the same area Amy was hiding, followed by a second person.

Ron and Harry were white as a sheet. “Oh yeah, I called your wives in. Turns out Charlotte and Nolan are married, they just didn’t want us to know. And this is Lucy, Jason’s wife. Charlotte suggested she join our team.

“It’s about time I got to meet you all,” Ginny said with a genuine smile on her face. “It’s a shame, really, Jason. I could have been such a vital part of your team, but I guess you haven’t bothered to tell your American friends about me, have you?”

“It was a mission before. We don’t talk personal on missions,” Harry said through gritted teeth, worried she was going to give something away. Ginny shot him a look that said, ‘I’m not stupid, so bugger off.’

“Guys, come on, it’s late. Heists are dumb, anyways. Can we wrap this up?” Terry complained.

“Yes, I am quite interested in how Santiago pulled this off,” Holt chimed in.

“Right,” Amy said. “You’ve already heard the first part of my plan, which was to get both of you to not trust me for your teams. Once I knew Jake was bringing in Jason and Nolan, I recruited Charlotte and Lucy. Charlotte was staking out the opposite end of the hallway by the interrogation room and was keeping me updated on Jake’s plan, since we all know he has to make a move first..at least for the heists, anyways. But it was when I was playing the ‘hurt’ card and talking to Jake when I noticed Captain Holt was speaking at his desk, so I asked Lucy to investigate.”

“I crawled through the air ducts to find out what was going on. Turns out Holt had an extra spy of his own,” Ginny explained.

“I knew you’d call King!” Jake exclaimed.

“It wasn’t King. He used King’s connections to get a very important device to help spy on us. One that could see, hear, and talk to, but no one else could see.” Amy was being careful not to give the identity of the magic portrait away. She knew it was Dumbledore’s portrait, but Holt, Terry and Gina couldn’t know.

“No!” Jake shouted. He looked at Harry and Ron, who nodded. He’d sent them into Holt’s office to figure out who he was consulting, and they managed to slip him a text, telling him who it was. “Okay, Captain. I have to admit, that was a solid idea.”

“Thank you,” Holt said as he nodded.

“Anyways, Lucy also heard about Holt’s plan when he told Terry how he was going to steal the crown from your cabinet. You actually made it quite easy for me to get to it,” Amy commented.

“So you dressed up as Al and emptied the garbage,” Jake finished.

“Exactly. I knew you’d watch the security footage and use my address book to find Al’s address. Luckily, his wife was willing to play along in our charade. I did have more planned for Charlotte and Lucy, but you just made it too easy for us, so we’ve been celebrating our victory instead.”

“But then where is the crown now?” Holt asked.

“At Shaw’s, where my inauguration as ‘amazing detective/genius’ will be held,” Amy answered.

“Man, Ames, I love you. I’m impressed,” Jake said. It took him a moment to realize what he’d said.

“You—you do?” Amy asked, looking at him with wide eyes.

“What?” Jake asked, still not fully understanding what just happened.

Charles was squealing like a little girl in the background. “Jake just told Amy he loved her!”

“Oh, yeah, I guess I did,” Jake said with an awkward laugh.

“Did you mean it?” Amy asked.

“I—yeah, I did,” Jake admitted. 

It wasn’t his intention to tell her how he felt in front of the entire precinct as well as his wizard friends, but it was too late now. Amy’s face broke into a sweet smile and it looked like she was trying not to cry. “Aw, I love you too, Jake.”

He walked over and kissed her as everyone whooped and cheered. When he broke apart, she looked him squarely in the eyes. “Don’t think for a second I’m giving you that crown,” she said fiercely.

Everyone laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of it. You won, fair and square. Could you carry me down to the first floor, though? I don’t think my legs can walk back down thirty one flights of stairs.”

Amy, Charlotte and Lucy all laughed. “What’s so funny?” Ron asked.

“I forgot to tell you. The elevator isn’t broken! We just put a sign up to make you take the stairs. We knew it’d buy us enough time until midnight,” Amy said with a triumphant smile on her face.

“My girlfriend’s evil and I love it,” Jake said. 

“Can we get to Shaw’s now?” Rosa asked, trying to push things along.

“To Shaw’s!” Jake agreed, as they all made their way to the elevator.

~o~

“All hail the crown of destiny!” Jake said as he placed the crown on Amy’s head. “And she who wears it. Amy Santiago, the—”

“Queen!” Amy interjected.

“—Queen of the 99,” Jake finished.

“And?” Amy asked, waiting patiently.

Holt and Jake both inhaled before saying, “Amy Santiago is an amazing detective/genius.”

Everyone clapped and enjoyed their drinks. Ron leaned over to Hermione and said, “So, how much trouble are we in for lying?”

“I think we can let it slide, considering we won,” Hermione said as she nodded to Ginny.

“Er, Lucy, where are the kids?” Harry asked.

“Bill and Fleur have them,” Ginny said, “And George and Angelina took Rose and Hugo.”

Harry and Ron nodded as Ron changed the subject, satisfied the kids were in good hands. Not that he’d have anything to worry about with his family on standby. “Nice of them to include us in this, yeah?” 

“Yes, it’s nice to see them again. Though, we shouldn’t make this regular. We’re already pushing it with how much they know,” Hermione chided.

“You’re probably right. It’s a shame Dumbledore can’t join us,” Harry said.

“Oh, yeah, have Holt walk right in with his portrait. Wouldn’t that be a sight!” Ron sniggered.

“I already messaged Kingsley, telling him we knew about his involvement, and he’s free to pick the portrait up,” Harry said.

“I can’t believe McGonagall even agreed to it!” Ginny added.

The conversation shifted as members from the squad came over and joined them. It was a happy reunion of the two teams, even knowing they couldn’t make a habit of it. The trio resolved to enjoy the night before returning back to England in the morning as they sipped on their drinks. Jake was filling Ginny in on the things Harry neglected to tell her about their time in New York City a few months back, including the infamous precinct chant. As if on cue, Ginny got to witness the chant firsthand.

Terry held up his glass and yelled, “NINE-NINE!” 

“NINE-NINE!”


End file.
